CHRISTCHURCH: The last leg of Bangladesh’s ongoing tour of New Zealand has been cancelled after an Australian white supremacist-led terrorist attack on two mosques in the city left at least 49 dead, according to the local police.
New Zealand Cricket (NZC) stated on its Twitter handle: “Our heartfelt condolences go out to the families and friends of those affected by the shocking situation in Christchurch. A joint decision between NZC and the @BCBtigers has been made to cancel the Hagley Oval Test. Again both teams and support staff groups are safe.”
For the record, the Hagley Oval Test was the last fixture of the New Zealand-Bangladesh series, which effectively means that the remainder of the tour has been called off.
In official statements provided by NZC and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), no Bangladeshi player, coach or supporting staff member was injured as some of them were on their way in their team bus for Friday prayers to the mosque.
In response to the attack, the visiting team escaped to the nearby Hagley Oval ground, where the third Test match of the series was to be held, before heading back to the hotel safely according to ESPNcricinfo.
BCB spokesman Jalal Yunus said most of the team were visiting the mosque in Christchurch and were about to go inside when the incident happened.
“They are safe, but they are mentally shocked. We have asked the team to stay confined in the hotel,” Yunus said.
Bangladesh wicketkeeper batsman Mushfiqur Rahim tweeted: “Alhamdulillah Allah save us today while shooting in Christchurch in the mosque…we r extremely lucky…never want to see this things happen again….pray for us”.
Shrinivas Chandrasekaran, the team’s high performance analyst, posted, “Just escaped active shooters!!! Heartbeats pumping badly and panic everywhere!!”
The team manager Khaled Mashud is reportedly in contact with the NZC, making arrangements for the entire contingent to head back home ‘as soon as possible’.
A decision has also been made to cancel the two remaining fixtures between the New Zealand Development team and Australia’s U19 women’s team that were due to take place over the weekend at Lincoln’s Bert Sutcliffe Oval.
The ramifications of the attack are expected to be widespread for New Zealand Cricket, putting the country in doubt of hosting international matches in the future. The situation is reminiscent to the Sri Lankan cricket team bus attacked in Lahore by terrorists in March 2009 ahead of a Test match against Pakistan. Pakistan has only hosted few low-key international matches ever since.
“We are shocked and appalled as I am sure all New Zealanders are,” NZC CEO David White said.
“We are offering support to all those within the teams affected by the situation and are continuing to take advice from authorities on the ground.”
Condemning the attack as ‘one of New Zealand’s darkest days’, the country’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern stated: “There is no place in New Zealand for such acts of extreme and unprecedented violence, which it is clear this act was. This is significant and I can tell you now this is and will be one of New Zealand’s darkest days. I would describe it as an unprecedented act of violence, an act that has absolutely no place in New Zealand. This is not who we are.
“Certainly it has occurred at a place where people should have been expressing their religious freedom, where they should have been in a safe environment, and they have not been today. There is no place in New Zealand for such extreme acts of unprecedented violence. The people who were the subject of this attack today, New Zealand is their home, they should be safe here. The person who has perpetuated this violent act against them, they have no place in New Zealand society.”
