LONDON – Australia’s cricketers have been told to be extra attentive by captain Steve Smith in the wake of the attack in London that left seven dead and dozens injured late on Saturday.
Australia are due to play Bangladesh – a country where they postponed a Test series tour in 2015 over security fears – in the ICC Champions Trophy tournament on Monday at The Oval, a ground not far from where the attack by three assailants took place late on Saturday.
Three men rammed a van through crowds of pedestrians on London Bridge, before attacking revellers with knives – the perpetrators were subsequently shot dead at the scene by armed police.
Cricket’s global governing body the International Cricket Council (ICC) has released a statement confirming enhanced security measures would continue to be reviewed “in line with the threat levels”.
“You never want to see that happening around the world – particularly when we’re so close to the events that happened last night,” Smith said at a press conference on Sunday.
“We’ve been briefed by our security team this morning, and they are comfortable with where security is at. For us, it’s about just being diligent with everything that we do and continuing the tournament as usual.”
Smith, whose side need a win against Bangladesh after their opener with New Zealand was a no-result due to inclement weather, said the team had been told not to leave their hotel on Saturday.
That measure was put in place for the other teams in the competition as well. “Guys were a little bit concerned at the time, and didn’t really know what to do,” said Smith.
“So Frank, our security guy, just made sure we remained in the hotel and stayed nice and safe. I think everyone was on the phone letting their loved ones back home know that everyone was okay with everyone involved (in) our team.”
Great to see black eyed peas playing at #onelovemanchester'where is the Love' is one of my favourite songs of all time
— Steve Smith (@stevesmith49) June 4, 2017
Security was heightened for Sunday’s India-Pakistan match at Edgbaston in Birmingham, with both teams observing a minute of silence before play.
“The security situation has been very much front and centre of our preparations, and we constantly review our procedures to guarantee they are as effective as possible to keep everyone safe,” it added.
Sri Lanka Cricket took to Twitter to assure fans that their team, who lost to South Africa at The Oval on Saturday night, were safe.
South Africa, who arrived last month for a three-month tour of England, said their players were “uneasy” following the May 22 night blast at a pop concert in Manchester.