England coach hoping for full participation
England coach Trevor Bayliss has said that he was keeping 'fingers crossed' for all those selected for the Test tour of Bangladesh next month to agree to tour the country despite security concerns, ESPNCricinfo reported yesterday.
Security concerns regarding the tour in October came to the fore after the July 1 militant attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery in Gulshan which left 20 dead.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) green-lit the tour upon the advice of a security delegation that conducted an inspection of the relevant venues in Bangladesh in mid-August.
The two-Test series in Bangladesh will be followed by a five-Test tour of India and Bayliss is hoping for the same squad to be used for the seven-Test stretch.
"It would be a bit hard to actually pick one [squad] and then another one. That could get down to who wants to go and who doesn't I suppose, but ultimately it would be best for the team to have one team [for both tours]," Bayliss was quoted to have said in the report.
Spin-bowling all-rounder Moeen Ali is the only England Test player to publicly confirm that he will go on the tour, while yesterday Chris Jordan had confirmed his intention to tour if selected while speaking at Old Trafford before the T20I against Pakistan. It has been reported in the British media that Test captain Alastair Cook had given private assurance that he will lead the Test side. Jonny Bairstow has also come close to confirming his participation.
Bayliss himself, as with his assistant Paul Farbrace, said he had no concerns about the trip.
When pressed if a player's place in India was directly linked to touring Bangladesh, Bayliss added: "Well, they might not say that, but it's a bridge we've got to cross if that happens. I've sort of got the fingers crossed that it doesn't occur. It might be a difficult decision if that happens."
Meanwhile, writing in his column for Daily Telegraph, former England batsman Kevin Pietersen warned ODI skipper Eoin Morgan against skipping the tour and risking a 'red cross' next to his name for ignoring the advice given by his bosses.
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