Vincent opts out of Pakistan Tour
{Lynn McConnell} | [Original Article]

Craig McMillan, Lou Vincent, Scott Styris and Ian Butler are to miss New Zealand's five-match one-day international tour of Pakistan which starts next week. They have opted out of the tour with the backing of New Zealand Cricket.

It was revealed today that NZC have received a threat concerning the safety of the New Zealand players on the tour. Martin Snedden, the chief executive of NZC said today: "The threat is being discussed with the (NZ) Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and investigations are proceeding to determine its validity.

"We have notified the ICC and the Pakistan Cricket Board of the threat and have entered into a consultation process with them. That process is expected to be completed over the next three or four days. We will continue to keep the Cricket Players' Association and the players fully informed throughout the process."

NZC decided to proceed with the tour last week after a comprehensive security review was completed by independent security adviser Reg Dickason. As a result of his findings NZC decided they would make the tour.

They also decided that all members of the team and its management, and players in contention for selection, would have the right to make an individual choice about whether to tour. NZC would continue to monitor the safety and security situation in Pakistan before and during the tour and would react as required to any information received.

The New Zealand Cricket Players' Association, and the players, were fully briefed on the process and Snedden said, "Following the traumatic experience in Karachi when the Black Caps last toured Pakistan we agreed that individual team members could make themselves unavailable if they were seriously concerned about safety.

The side for the tour will not be named until the process of discussion on the threat received is completed. New Zealand has at least one more match to play in India, and should it win, it would be required to play a final against Australia in Kolkata on Tuesday. The first match in Pakistan is at Faisalabad on November 22.


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