Teams welcome decision to postpone Champions Trophy

New Zealand Cricket chief executive Justin Vaughan said he was relieved that the ICC’s decision removed the burden of having to decide whether to withdraw from the tournament from New Zealand Cricket. The New Zealand Cricket Players’ Association had recommended its members did not travel to Pakistan and New Zealand would likely have joined South Africa, Australia, England and West Indies in bypassing the event.

Vaughan said the current security situation in Pakistan had made the ICC decision unavoidable. “It’s disappointing to have to postpone the tournament but in the end it was a rigorous process that was followed and in the end the security advice around Pakistan has just been too tough to overcome,” he told Radio Sport in New Zealand.

“We wanted to see the process run its course and in the end we didn’t have to make a call,” he added. “The weight of opinion from around the world meant that it was an obvious choice. You couldn’t hold a good world event in Pakistan at the moment. The right decision has been made and everyone’s pretty comfortable with it.”

Cricket Australia spokesman Peter Young, meanwhile, told a newspaper that the organisation was relieved at the decision. He also said CA had told the ICC privately a month ago that Australia would not go to Pakistan. “It’s a sensible decision in the circumstances,” Young told The Australian.