- England are due to tour Bangladesh from the end of this month
- Questions have been raised over player safety after recent terror attacks
- ECB have reassured the players that they will be safe during time away
- I believe it is the right thing to do though friends and family have asked why we’d put ourselves in such a difficult situation
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It has been a really difficult decision about whether to tour Bangladesh but on balance I believe it’s the right thing to do and I have told the ECB that I am ready to go. It’s been on all of our minds since July when the terrorist attack happened in Dhaka and none of us have taken our decisions lightly. Whenever security is on the agenda it becomes a big decision. A few of us have been in this position before when we went back to India in 2008 following the Mumbai attacks.
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Stuart Broad will join the England touring party to Bangladesh this winter if selected
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Broad and the rest of the England players will be given permission to opt out
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England security chief Reg Dickason, left, has assured the players they will be safe
Some of my friends and family have asked me why we’d put ourselves in such a difficult situation with the level of security we’re going to face just to play a game of cricket. But the world is a changing place and there is risk almost anywhere you go these days. It’s a sad reality. The ECB have assured us it is safe to go and people’s jobs will depend on keeping us safe. That is a big commitment, they’ve put their necks on the line to an extent and Reg Dickason, the head of security, is a man I trust and who has unrivalled knowledge of this area.
I’ve known Reg for a very long time and he’s never let any of us down before. We all trust he’s giving us the right advice and will ensure we’re properly looked after. He’s a big player in this. I’ve chatted a lot to guys like Jimmy (Anderson) and Cooky (Alastair Cook) and all the boys have spent a lot of time deliberating with phone calls going on left, right and centre.
It’s going to be a tough tour, no doubt about it. But, after a long summer of deliberating, once it was decided an England team would definitely be going following the security recce a couple of weeks back then I was always going to go.
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One-day captain Eoin Morgan is set to stay at home with concerns about touring
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Alex Hales is also hesitant after a recent terror attack on a bakery in Dhaka
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Broad has weighed up the decision in his mind and feels going on tour is the right thing to do
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Having said that, I do have sympathy for anyone who may decide not to go. It has to be a personal decision. If you genuinely feel unsafe and it stresses you out to such an extent that it would impact your mental and physical wellbeing then it’s completely understandable to not put yourself in the position. It’s important we stick together as players and I know there won’t be any questions if certain players decide not to go.
It’s not a one-in-all-in, you have to make up your own mind. If you’re really worried, you might go out and get three noughts and do your prospects more harm than by not going. It’s entirely up to the individual and the ECB have said that all along. No-one should be making throwaway comments about it being ridiculous if people don’t tour.
The players are in a really awkward position and the whole issue has taken up a great deal of thinking time over the past few months and a lot of phone calls. Our families are genuinely concerned and we have to consider that.
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Broad has spoken with Test captain Alastair Cook, who will also be going on the tour
One of the biggest challenges for a professional sportsman is being able to cut out distractions and focus on the job in hand. This is going to be a big test on that front but I believe, with all my experience, I’ll be able to do that. I thought it was right to go back to India in 2008 and I think it meant a lot to India.
It’s very sad that Pakistan don’t have cricket in their country for security reasons and it would be very sad for the game of cricket if Bangladesh ended up in the same position. Bangladesh are hugely passionate about cricket and their fans have always been very welcoming. I’m satisfied it’s the right thing for the tour to go ahead. On a personal level, I’ve been bitterly disappointed not to have been able to help Nottinghamshire in their battle against relegation. I was diagnosed with a stress reaction in my left ankle which is the precursor to a stress fracture and the ECB’s medical department decided I needed a period of rest to be fit for what is going to be a gruelling seven-Test winter.
I’d been managing it since the Sri Lanka series but by the time we played Pakistan in the fourth Test at the Oval it was agony.
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Jimmy Anderson – Broad’s long-term fast bowling partner – is also in favour of touring
It didn’t help that a toenail had come off at Edgbaston and moved around inside my sock causing a really nasty blister! I had an initial injection of ink to discover the extent of the damage and then a follow-up injection under a scanner a couple of days later to inject a special thick gel which has helped the bone heal. That was a horrible experience but seems to be doing the trick.
I’ll start bowling again in a couple of weeks.
I’m looking forward to being fully fit by the time we leave for the Bangladesh Tests.
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Broad and England will be involved in the Test matches on the sub-continent
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