England Women hopeful of rearranging Pakistan tour

Speaking after losing the third ODI against New Zealand in Leicester, England captain Heather Knight said that the decision around the tour's cancellation had been "taken out of our hands"

The ECB’s most senior administrator for women’s cricket has expressed her hope that England’s tour of Pakistan can be rescheduled, adding that “all of the reasons as to why we were delighted to be going and excited to be going remain other than the obvious recent developments”.

Speaking to The Cricketer shortly after the announcement of the cancellation of the joint men’s and women’s tour, Clare Connor, the managing director of England Women’s cricket, who visited Pakistan last year and witnessed the full return of the Pakistan Super League to the country, admitted that she was “hugely disappointed”.

“Ultimately, this comes down to looking after our people in a very anxiety-fuelled period of time, massively exacerbated by what took place last week,” she explained.

“It would have been a piece of England Women’s cricket history. The players were really excited about that, taking international women’s cricket to that part of the world and going somewhere new.

“There is no doubt that the country has been starved and deprived of the sport on their own turf that they love, so on every level it is really sad.”

On Tuesday, England captain Heather Knight said that the decision was “taken out of our hands”. She was speaking after England’s ODI defeat against New Zealand, having briefly addressed the issue at the toss ahead of play.

Last week, Knight had spoken of how she was looking forward to visiting the country for the first time but, since New Zealand’s men’s team abandoned their trip on the morning of the first match of a three-match 50-over series, plenty has changed. England officially cancelled their tour on Monday after seeking counsel on the security situation in the country, citing the governing body's responsibility for its players' mental health, though there was no specific mention of player safety or security concerns. British High Commissioner to Pakistan Christian Turner confirmed this, stating in a video message: “This was a decision made by the ECB, which is independent of the British government, based on concerns for player welfare.”

^{Heather Knight spoke after England were defeated by New Zealand at Leicester}

Knight said: “It’s above our heads a little bit, but obviously there were conversations between the PCA (Professional Cricketers’ Association), EWPP (England Women’s Player Partnership) and TEPP (Team England Player Partnership) on the boys’ side with the ECB before New Zealand’s withdrawal, so it’s quite a complicated situation, I think it’s fair to say.

“I think the conversation and the communication between the board and the PCA is a strong one, and I think it was a tricky situation with what had gone on with New Zealand. I think taking it out of our hands is probably the right thing to do, and that was done with a view to try to look after the players, I guess.

“It’s for the people above us to make those decisions and for us to get on with them and accept wherever they are.

“Hopefully further down the line we’ll be able to do that and go there, because I do think in the future it’s important for them – particularly for women’s cricket – with what’s going on in the region.”

Like Knight, Connor stated her desire for the tour be rearranged, adding: “I think we should look to still honour it where we can in what is becoming an increasingly busy women’s calendar.

“It isn’t just about winning; winning is really important and the impact of winning is amazing, but it’s also important that we understand that bigger picture and make as positive a contribution [to the game] as possible.”

England call off tours of Pakistan in wake of New Zealand withdrawal

While the ECB’s statement made reference to the impact that the tour might have on preparations for the men’s T20 World Cup, there was no equivalent mention of the repercussions for the women’s side – they were due to play two T20Is and three ODIs just months out from the Women’s Ashes and the defence of their 50-over World Cup crown, which begins in New Zealand in March, with the Commonwealth Games – played in T20 format – taking place next summer. It means that England’s last game before a defining winter will be the final ODI against New Zealand on Sunday.

Conversely, however, England’s players have effectively been operating in a ‘safe-living’ environment since the multiformat series against India began in June. They then joined up with their Hundred teams – albeit not in as strict a bubble – before returning to international duty against New Zealand.

Were the Pakistan tour to be going ahead, they would then have returned to a period of ‘safe living’ on September 28 ahead of boarding a charter flight with the men’s team, all ahead of a schedule that will see them depart for Australia in early January, only returning home in April just in time for the resumption of the English summer.

Connor added: “At the end of the day, our responsibility is to people and to making sure we’re balancing their obligations as employees – this is the staff as well, not just the players – who have been incredible. They have operated in this way for four months. We shouldn’t underestimate that – you need balance in life, your people, your family, your friends around you to ground you, to keep you healthy. These are not healthy times really.”