Manchester aftermath: ICC to review security for CT

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 23

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has said that, in view of the terror attack during a music concert in Manchester last night, it will work with the “authorities” to review the security for the Champions Trophy and the Women’s World Cup.

The men’s Champions Trophy will be played across three cities in the UK — London, Birmingham and Cardiff — from June 1 to 18. The Women’s World Cup will be played from June 24 to July 23 in four smaller cities (Bristol, Derby, Leicester, Taunton), though the final will be contested in London.

The Indian men’s team begins its defence of its title in Birmingham on June 4 against Pakistan, while India’s women will play their first match on June 24 against England at Derby.

ICC expects big crowds for at least the men’s tournament since a large number of expatriates from all seven visiting countries live in the UK: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa all have a big fan base in the UK.

Security reviews

“The ICC and ECB place safety and security at the ICC Champions Trophy and ICC Women’s World Cup this summer as the highest priority. We operate on advice from our Tournament Security Directorate — in conjunction with the ECB and relevant authorities — to ensure that we have a robust safety and security plan for both tournaments,” an ICC statement released today said. 

The statement added: “We will continue to work with authorities over the coming hours and days and review our security in line with the threat levels.”

“The security situation has been very much front and centre of our preparations and we constantly review our procedures to guarantee they are as effective as possible to keep everyone safe,” it added. 

‘Threat levels’

The ICC statement talked about ‘threat levels’, which reflects the new reality of the UK in the new Millennium after the threat from the Irish separatist outfits faded away.

Since the 2005 London Tube bombings, in which four suicide bombers killed 52 people, security has been a key factor in sports and cultural events across the UK. When the Indian cricket team was touring Northern Ireland in 2007, a terror attack took place at Glasgow airport, and five persons were injured. This attack too had led to a review of the security for the Test and ODI series between India and England.

Over the last few years, there have been several terror attacks across the UK, many of them lone-wolf operations. A large number of UK citizens are reported to be fighting in Syria and Iraq. Two months ago, on March 22, a lone attacker killed five persons, including a police officer, at Westminster in the heart of London.

Considering these facts, and last night’s attack, ICC’s review of its security is prudent.