Pakistan U19 cricketers mistaken for asylum seekers by protesters in UK
The English cricket board confirms it is reviewing the team’s security for the remainder of the tour.
Pakistan’s Under-19 cricket team has found itself at the centre of an anti-migrant protest in the United Kingdom after a group of masked protesters mistook the players for asylum seekers and gathered outside the team’s hotel.
Protesters in Portsmouth gathered outside the Marriott on Tuesday night, believing busloads of asylum seekers were being brought to the four-star hotel, only to be told that it was Pakistan’s U-19 cricket team on tour.
British media first reported the incident, and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed that it was reviewing the team’s security for the remainder of the tour and had reached out to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
“This is the responsibility of the whole sport to ensure the safety, security and wellbeing of the visiting team,” he said. “They are on it, and we are hopeful that nothing of such sort will happen in the future.”