Poms brief Aussies on Bangladesh security
Aug 17, 2017 - 12:54 AM England's first-hand accounts of the Bangladesh security bubble helped assuage Australian cricketers' doubts regarding their own trip, according to Pat Howard.Cricket Australia (CA) postponed a two-Test tour of Bangladesh in 2015 because of security concerns; specifically the risk of a terrorist attack on Australian nationals.
CA has since monitored the situation closely but gave its final security clearance earlier this month following the last of many exhaustive pre-tour visits. Steve Smith's squad will depart for Dhaka on Friday.
England visited Bangladesh last year without incident. They were provided the same level of protection afforded to heads of state.
Australia will also be guarded by the same 'ring of steel' that includes snipers, tanks and convoys featuring up to 2,000 security officials.
At this stage, no member of Smith's 14-man squad has indicated they want to pull out.
"They got a lot of confidence from the England players after Champions Trophy, talking to them and finding out how well Bangladesh security dealt with things," CA team-performance manager Howard told AAP.
"It was really important for players to talk to players who have experienced it.
"I'm not surprised that has helped and I'm not surprised our pre-tour has also helped.
"To a large extent the players are feeling in a very good space about this tour."
That is not to say some players haven't come to Howard with concerns and questions this year.
"Absolutely, and that's fair enough," he said.
"We've kept them updated on all the information we have.
"In making the ultimate decision to go or not to go, we wanted to make sure it was a well-informed decision."
Batsmen Eoin Morgan and Alex Hales both refused to take part in England's tour of Bangladesh last year.
Andrew Strauss, Howard's equivalent at the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), made it clear at the time he was "disappointed".
"It's a choice. Players want to play for their country ... but if anybody has a genuine fear, or their family does, then I understand," Howard said of what his stance would be in a similar situation.
"We think we've got enough depth in Australian cricket to deal with any of those issues but we don't have any players in that space."
Source: AAP
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