Pakistan national cricket team’s horrid tour has taken yet another negative turn. The senior men’s team has lost the three-match Test series after two games and is in a position where it could potentially lose the final match. Meanwhile, the Under-19 team off the field ran into trouble of their own. A group of anti-immigration protesters mistakenly identified the young cricketers as asylum seekers. The anti-migrant protesters gathered around the hotel where the Pakistan Under-19 team was staying after mistakenly believing that the visitors were seeking asylum in England.
Anti-Migrant Protesters Mistake Pakistan U-19 Team as Asylum Seekers
After a nightmare visit by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) team in England, the situation with the touring Under-19 Pakistan team also turned surreal when a group of anti-immigrant protesters from the outside saw them as asylum seekers. A report from the Guardian stated that a number of protesters wearing masks had gathered at the exterior of the four-star Marriott hotel in Portsmouth, which received notification that around 40 men who did not look British were present there.
Everything went back to normal quickly when George Madgwick, a Reform Party member, called the hotel for an update and helped facilitate the interaction between the two sides following the confrontation.
It was only after that Madgwick and the protestors found out that the hotel was actually giving a welcome to the Pakistani Under-19 cricket team tour, who were playing their matches alongside the senior national team in England.
ECB And PCB Meet to Discuss Security Measures
The incident triggered a visit from the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), where the players’ situation is being discussed, and security details for the remaining part of the trip are being reviewed.
At this time, the team members of the two sides are scheduled for a series of three Youth ODI matches from 12th to 16th September. The Pakistan youth squad lost the only Youth Test against England, but they put up a very strong performance at the ODI games, where the England youth team was defeated by as much as 177 runs at Arundel, which is a small town only about forty-five kilometers away from the Marriott Hotel – their home away during the English season.
Pragun is a passionate cricket follower and writer who deeply loves the game. Having completed his education with a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication, he has an experience of almost two years in diverse fields. He is known for his statistical and analytical articles. Pragun tries to bring life to his articles by adding a layer of enthusiasm from the perspective of a hardcore fan. Apart from writing cricket articles, he sometimes appears on YouTube videos on a friend’s podcast.
