Halsall hopeful of England's visit

Bangladesh fielding coach Richard Halsall, who returned to Dhaka from England on Friday, has said yesterday that he is hopeful of the England tour taking place this September.

He also felt that the situation in Bangladesh at the moment is safe for conducting international tours.

England are scheduled to arrive on September 30 to play two Tests and three ODIs. However, following the terror attack in Gulshan on July 1, England ODI skipper Eoin Morgan had said that he and his team were concerned about the Bangladesh tour. Halsall however reckons that the tour should go on as planned.

Referring to the Gulshan attack, the Englishman said: “It is not an incident, it is an atrocity. But they happen all over the world -- in Belgium, France, Germany. I happened to be in London when it was under attack. I was in India when the Taj was attacked. The world we live in, nowadays, these things do happen. And it is tragic for people involved. So my thoughts are with those people who have been murdered.

“I am hopeful that the tour will take place. England are, I think, committed to play cricket all over the world. 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,” added Halsall while speaking to reporters at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.

While there was talk about the possibility of the foreign coaches rethinking their plans with the BCB following the Gulshan attack, Halsall said that he was always planning on returning.

“It was always my intention to come back. I am a professional, and my job is to coach.  BCB has been very kind to me. The sensible thing to do after the attack was to let everything calm down. We didn't have any international cricket at the time. I think things probably calmed down but it doesn't mean things aren't going to happen but that's the same in England, America, Australia, France, Germany,” he said.