Halsall hopeful about England's visit

Bangladesh fielding coach Richard Halsall has said today that he is hopeful that England will tour Bangladesh this October. Furthermore, the English coach, who returned to Dhaka on Friday, also said that he personally felt that it was safe to conduct international tours in Bangladesh.

While referring to the terror attack in Gulshan on July 1, Halsall said: “It is not an incident, it is an atrocity. But they happen all over the world, in Belgium, France, Germany.

“I am hopeful that the tour will take place. England are, I think, committed to play cricket all over the world. Their U19s were here for the World Cup but maybe the security situation in Bangladesh is better now because awareness of the situation is heightened. I think people are a bit more honest about the threat level and there’s no denial that there’s a threat. But that exists here and everywhere," said Halsall.

In the aftermath of the Gulshan terror attacks, England's one-day captain Eoin Morgan said that the tour was a 'big concern' and an England and Wales Cricket Board spokesman said that they would wait for government advice before going ahead with the tour, scheduled to take place in October with England arriving on September 30.  

"It is my job to coach, and for England to assess whether it is safe here for their players. I think it is safe to be here. But it is up to them to decide whether it is safe for the team to come. Obviously it is a different situation for a team. But I really hope that they do come. We need to play some international cricket,” he added, while talking to reporters at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur this afternoon.