'They should have fulfilled that commitment' - Mark Butcher on England withdrawing from the Pakistan tour

Soon after New Zealand decided to abandon the series against Pakistan, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) also announced that it has withdrawn from the men’s and women’s tour in October. These decisions fetched in a lot of reactions from the cricketing fraternity. The latest to comment on the matter is Mark Butcher.

New Zealand decided to call off the white ball series against Pakistan citing security threats. PCB, however, denied any such threats and assured the visitors about the same. A few days later, ECB also came forward to announce that it too wouldn’t go forward with the planned series against Pakistan taking into consideration the mental and physical well-being of their players.

Mark Butcher feels that England should have gone forward with the series. He recounted that Pakistan toured England while Covid was at its peak and it was now their turn to fulfill the commitment. “England should have been able to find 15 players and fulfill the engagement. Everyone is put in a difficult situation. Pakistan of course helped out ECB touring England when COVID was at its peak.

“The feeling here in the UK is that England should have fulfilled that commitment. It was astonishing that ECB had put out that playing in Pakistan wasn’t ideal preparation for World T20. If that isn’t the best preparation for the world event in the Middle East, then I don’t really know what is,” Mark Butcher said in a conversation with Cricket.com.

I don’t see good enough reasons why we can’t send any team to Pakistan: Mark Butcher

Mark Butcher took Pakistan’s side in this matter. He feels that the reason stated by the ECB to cancel the tours wasn’t up for taking. He also added that the bigger nations have the responsibility of taking the sport up and unfortunately they are failing to do so.

“It is very tough to take, I’m on Pakistan’s side in this topic. If there is information that is out there hidden, I think it should be released in order for everyone to figure it out. I don’t see good enough reasons why we can’t send any team to Pakistan to play a two-match series.

“The whole thing stinks because you pick and choose the tours that you want to play. The bigger teams have a responsible towards the rest in keeping the sport up and the big teams are not fulfilling their responsibilities. On the other hand, the bigger teams (ECB) expect sides like West Indies and Pakistan to come and rescue their summer,” Butcher added.