England Cricket Board releases a statement after Melbourne car crash

On Thursday evening a white SUV crashed into a group of people leaving 15 of them injured near the Flinders Street station in Melbourne. The place is located close to the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) which is set to host the boxing day Test, the 4th of the Ashes 2017-18 starting on 26th December.

ECB assures safety of players

The incident took place around 4:45 pm local time close to Flinders Street which is a few kilometres away from the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The England Cricket Board (ECB) released an official statement after the incident took place, they stated that all their players were safe.

“Following the Flinders Street incident in Melbourne, all players and management have been accounted for and are safe.” the ECB statement read. England have had a series that they won’t want to remember for long.

No official statement has been released yet from Cricket Australia (CA) but the players are understood to be safe. Australia is currently leading the series 3-0 and they will want to consolidate on their unassailable lead when they take on England in the fourth Test of the series. CA is expected to release an official statement soon.

What exactly happened?

According to various eyewitness reports, the white SUV reached pedestrians about six or seven seconds after they were given the green light to cross the road. The male driver was arrested soon enough by the police, and a second man, who was also alleged to have been in the car, has also been arrested.

Police believe the crash was a “deliberate act” but it is too early to know what motivated it, they are also investigating terrorist links into the attack. Police say this was a “quarantined” incident and does not increase the risk at major upcoming events like the Boxing Day Test.