ECB issue statement as England tour cancelled amid Middle East conflict

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has issued an official update on the England Lions tour of the UAE, as well as England Women’s training camp in the nation, amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Following the US and Israel’s joint military offensive against Iran, which resulted in the nation’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, being killed in Tehran on Saturday (28 February), flights to and from much of the Middle East, including the UAE, were halted.

Iran has since responded by firing drones and missiles towards several other nations in the region, including Kuwait, Qatar, Cyprus, Bahrain and Israel, who have also engaged in strikes against the Iranian-backed Shia group Hezbollah.

Following the outbreak of the conflict, the England Lions’ second match against Pakistan Shaheens, which was scheduled for 1 March, was cancelled, with English cricket’s governing body, the ECB, releasing a statement in which it said the squad were “following official advice”.

The England Lions are currently in the UAE (Credit:Getty)

England Test captain Ben Stokes, as well as Lions head coach Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff, are among the touring party based in Abu Dhabi.

England Women were also scheduled to fly to Abu Dhabi for a training camp on 4 March, but the ECB has confirmed to SPORTbible that the tour has been cancelled “due to the instability across the Gulf”.

The ECB confirmed that the remainder of the England Men’s Lions tour has also been cancelled.

An official statement released on 3 March read: “The remainder of the England Men’s Lions tour has been cancelled, and we are working to get everyone home as soon as possible.

“We have ruled out the possibility of the England Women’s T20 World Cup camp taking place in Abu Dhabi given the instability across the Gulf.

“Over the weekend we started work on alternative options that will enable England Women to achieve the same outcomes, and we’ll keep you informed as soon as we finalise a new plan.”

The England Men’s senior team are currently preparing for their ICC T20 World Cup semi-final against India in Mumbai, which will get underway on 5 March, with the winner set to face either South Africa or New Zealand in the final.