The ICC have played down fears of a terrorist threat to next month’s T20 World Cup following reports that Islamic State have encouraged attacks on the tournament, which is being staged jointly by the USA and the West Indies.
With reports of the threats circulating on social media, the prime minister of Trinidad & Tobago, Keith Rowley, told Trinidad’s Daily Express: ‘Unfortunately, the threat of terrorism in its many and varied expressions is an ever-present danger in the world of the 21st century.
‘Given the fact that bad actors can choose to misbehave in any way possible it makes it virtually impossible to completely seal off all opportunities.
‘However, in order to ameliorate these dangers, we at the local and regional levels have remained alert to many threats and singularly or together have our intelligence and other security agencies working to protect the population in countries and at venues throughout the tournament.’
England will play all their matches in the Caribbean, starting on June 4, and will visit Barbados, Antigua and – assuming they qualify for the Super Eight stage – St Lucia and possibly St Vincent. The semi-finals are in Trinidad and Guyana, with the final back in Barbados.
The ICC have played down fears of a terrorist threat to next month’s T20 World Cup
Keith Rowley (R), the Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago, said the danger was ever-present
The ICC and Cricket West Indies would not confirm that the threat had emanated from Islamic State, whose propaganda channel, Nashir-e Pakistan, are said to have encouraged attacks on sporting events.
But in a joint statement, the ICC and CWI said: ‘We work closely with authorities in the host countries and cities, and continually monitor and evaluate the global landscape to ensure appropriate plans are in place to mitigate any risks identified to our event.
‘We want to assure all stakeholders that safety and security of everyone at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is our number one priority and we have a comprehensive and robust security plan in place.’
The ECB declined to comment.
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