YOU FAILED US

Pakistan accuse England of letting them down in hour of need

ENGLAND were last night accused of ‘failing a member of the cricket fraternity in need’ after pulling out of next month’s tour of Pakistan, citing increasing concerns about travelling to the region.

The stinging verbal attack by PCB chairman Ramiz Raja came just over a year after Pakistan committed to playing here in bio-secure conditions, which helped the ECB mitigate potential losses that could have run into millions of pounds. Pakistan returned for six white-ball matches this summer.

As pay-back, it was agreed England would play their first internationals in Pakistan in 16 years, only for the ECB to say in a statement yesterday that they were ‘sincerely sorry for the impact’ their decision to follow New Zealand’s lead will have on cricket in the Asian country. They added that they remain committed to a full tour in 2022.

‘Disappointed with England, pulling out of their commitment and failing a member of their cricket fraternity when it needed it most,’ tweeted Raja. ‘Survive we will. A wake-up call for Pak team to become the best team in the world for teams to line up to play them without excuses.’

He added on Sky Sports: ‘It is disappointing to say the least