There may be troubles ahead: England selection issues.

[alfie]

Tricky , this.

I'm inclined to side with Arthur's view that threats are pretty well everywhere today and undertaking tours with what is considered sufficient security rather than shying away from traveling outside major Western counties is reasonable - and I'm aware that is easy for me to say from my comfortable chair. I certainly wouldn't think less of a player for declining selection out of concerns over safety ; but obviously , as Hales says , giving up one's place always carries the risk that someone might come in and impress ...and those whose places are less than totally secure are at more risk. Unfortunately that is the way it is ; and I don't envy those who have to make a choice.
Should the tour be going ahead ? To be honest I am slightly surprised that it is ; but I can only presume the Bangladeshi authorities have satisfied the ECB that the touring party will be a safe as anyone can be in the world we currently inhabit. I am certainly not in any position to make a judgement on this but can only hope they are correct.
I don't however assume that the only considerations are financial. The ECB (for all we love to criticize them ) aren't looking to put players at risk just for the sake of a few million quid : and in any case reasonable security concerns would surely be grounds for cancelling the tour without financial penalty. The cricketing politics are another matter ; and for once this looks like a case of one of the Big Three doing something for a minnow - heaven knows that is rare enough and to be commended...

Opinions are going to differ on this : some people in the cricket world want to see Tests in Pakistan resume ; but I suspect there is no immediate prospect of that happening. I think it would be a pity if Bangladesh (limited as they are as a cricket centre) should go the same way.
If I were a player I believe I would choose to go. (Though you can never know for sure until you are actually in that position.)
And I think most of the England players will travel. But I'll admit I will feel a lot happier about this when the tour is successfully and safely completed.

[Dr Cricket]

Issue really is that Bangladesh is right in the middle of the spectrum, Enough risk to cancel the tour and at the same time the security is good enough not to cancel the tour.
Also the cost isn't just a few million quid it actually quite a lot and definitely enough for ECB to spend their entire Reserve money in compensation.

[Aidan11]

My gut instinct is we shouldn't go.

[hopeforthebest]

It's one thing for Arthur and Alfie to pop into Bangladesh for a visit but to send a party of 40 or so, on a well publicised tour with a well publicised itinerary seems to be inviting attention.

[sussexpob]

Comparisons to France are a bit nonsensical. The Euro 2016 operation was no doubt the best funded, most intensly planned co-operative counter terrorism measure in all the worlds history, and had the benefit of a bottomless pit of resources and money. The only real stated similarity is the French and ECB's open consideration that dispersed people and situations prove a more serious challenge then mass crowds.

The French tactics at the EURO's was to keep people together in large crowds. Get them to places pre-arranged that were incredibly well policed, protected, and with all the technology and firepower to make your average terrorist realise he would be better to walk into Boots and blow himself up, because after 17 searches to get to a fan zone or stadium you had no chance of getting near a large crowd. In fact, I believe most teams on the night of games were forced to stay in fan zones as they were the best protected areas. It was away from the fan zones they worried about because they couldnt adequately police every street, and came to the conclusion that if a terrorist picked a 1-1 target, it had no difference to any other event. Anywhere that a group of fans were drinking, there would be a squad of armed police near. The easy targets were the concern, not the large mass casulties.

The ECB have stated their concern as being the same, and that being that in nature of BD's geographic climate, it is impossible that the police can seal of securely all the run ups to the stadium. So in difference to France, that operated no drone zones, no fly zones, closed off rooftops for miles, closed off roads, etc..... in BD, its been stated this is impossible. So should England get stuck in a traffic jam, it would be like the scene in Clear and Present danger when the American delegate arrive in Colombia to be greated by a few RPGs.

It worth noting that Pakistan guaranteed Sri Lanka "Presidential Security levels" but

[Dr Cricket]

Reports are that morgan doesn't want to go.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/cricket/2016 ... pe-of-per/

[Making_Splinters]

Morgan is the captain and starting to make runs again. There is no danger of anyone coming in and usurping his place regardless of performance, so he's got a much easier choice to make over the newer players like Roy etc.

[hopeforthebest]

I see this North v South experiment to take place in Dubai is to be coached by Otis Gibson and Paul Farbrace. As this is supposed to be an opportunity for the selectors to see new talent it's a pity England's coach will once more be missing. His oft repeated excuse that he doesn't have first hand knowledge of players will soon wear thin if he continually returns to Oz land at the very time the CC is starting it's new season.

[braveneutral]

I see this North v South experiment to take place in Dubai is to be coached by Otis Gibson and Paul Farbrace. As this is supposed to be an opportunity for the selectors to see new talent it's a pity England's coach will once more be missing. His oft repeated excuse that he doesn't have first hand knowledge of players will soon wear thin if he continually returns to Oz land at the very time the CC is starting it's new season.

I read about the coaches but just assumed he would be there? Maybe not then.

[backfootpunch]

Comparisons to France are a bit nonsensical. The Euro 2016 operation was no doubt the best funded, most intensly planned co-operative counter terrorism measure in all the worlds history, and had the benefit of a bottomless pit of resources and money. The only real stated similarity is the French and ECB's open consideration that dispersed people and situations prove a more serious challenge then mass crowds.

The French tactics at the EURO's was to keep people together in large crowds. Get them to places pre-arranged that were incredibly well policed, protected, and with all the technology and firepower to make your average terrorist realise he would be better to walk into Boots and blow himself up, because after 17 searches to get to a fan zone or stadium you had no chance of getting near a large crowd. In fact, I believe most teams on the night of games were forced to stay in fan zones as they were the best protected areas. It was away from the fan zones they worried about because they couldnt adequately police every street, and came to the conclusion that if a terrorist picked a 1-1 target, it had no difference to any other event. Anywhere that a group of fans were drinking, there would be a squad of armed police near. The easy targets were the concern, not the large mass casulties.

The ECB have stated their concern as being the same, and that being that in nature of BD's geographic climate, it is impossible that the police can seal of securely all the run ups to the stadium. So in difference to France, that operated no drone zones, no fly zones, closed off rooftops for miles, closed off roads, etc..... in BD, its been stated this is impossible. So should England get stuck in a traffic jam, it would be like the scene in Clear and Present danger when the American delegate arrive in Colombia to be greated by a few RPGs.

It worth noting that Pakistan guaranteed Sri Lanka "Presidential Security levels" but

Plenty of people I know didn't have there bags checked at all going into stadiums at the euros

The security wasn't particularly good at all otherwise all those flares wouldn't have been snuck in by the croats and Russians etc

[Arthur Crabtree]

I mean, lets take a recent example. I was in Brussels Zaventum airport in November coming back from Argentina(3 days after Paris attacks) and Dec/Jan 2016. Terror threats were at their highest level, and I believe havent dropped since. Everyone anticipated an attack imminently. The police/army/soldiers.... literally, everything was done to prevent it. There were tanks on every street corner, and inbetween disposed in short bursts were military foot soldiers armed with rifles. The airport had more armed soldiers and sniffer dogs than travellers, and I was searched at various stages to get in the airport, and out. Leave a bag for a millisecond and you had an armed soldier telling you to stand still......Not long after someone killed 30 odd people in the same place.

How anyone can turn around and say "yeah, this place is safe" is beyond me. If someone can get into a European airport with several bombs and rifles and kill 30 people when the whole of the country was on high alert and a whole battalion of armed troops were patrolling the place, then they can quite as easily bomb a bus of cricketers. This are high level targets at highly sensitve times!!

.

And this sounds like even thorough security measures offer little confidence. But I suppose there's no definite answer.

[Making_Splinters]

Ali has confirmed he will definitely tour Bangladesh, hardly surprising since he'll be under really pressure for his place this winter even being part of the Test and ODI side, he'd have been in real danger if he didn't play.

[The Professor]

Really good article highlighting the merits of Ben Foakes http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/con ... 53429.html

[ianp1970]

Not sure Moeen is under pressure for his test place at all until a better alternative rears its head, yet alone one that can bat at number 7.

I have always said that ODI teams need 2 spinners, so I guess at the minute he is a shoe-in there as well...

[backfootpunch]

Ali has confirmed he will definitely tour Bangladesh, hardly surprising since he'll be under really pressure for his place this winter even being part of the Test and ODI side, he'd have been in real danger if he didn't play.

It's important that he and rashid both go really

They need to get overs under there belt before india

I'm not overly confident we will beat Bangladesh tbh

We will need cook and root to score consistently

I have no confidence in hales, Ballance, Stokes, bairstow and the tail in spinning conditions

Hopefully Mo performs better than he did during the farce of him opening the batting