Black Caps captain Tom Latham said the team were in “good spirits” as most of them began to make their way home from Dubai following the abandonment of their tour of Pakistan in the wake of a credible, direct security threat late last week.
In an interview the skipper became the first member of the touring party to speak about the events that led to their departure over the weekend. Latham commented that “Some guys are staying here, some guys are heading home, but it will be nice to get home and see all the families, for them it’s been a little bit stressful as well, in terms of finding out the news. Once we got here I think they were pretty relieved. I’m sure everyone’s looking forward to seeing their loved ones.”
Latham said it had been “a hectic 24 hours” for the Black Caps following the decision by NZ Cricket to abandon the tour after a direct threat to the team was passed on by the New Zealand Government.
He continued to comment that “The guys dealt with it all slightly differently, but we stayed tight as a group over there and just spent time together, just bouncing off each other, in the 24 hours we had still in Islamabad. For us to be here and to be safe, the guys were certainly very pleased to get here.”
Latham said the team found out they would be leaving Pakistan after they were called to an unscheduled meeting at lunchtime on Friday, ahead of the first of three one-day internationals. They then spent 24 hours locked down in their hotel in Islamabad before leaving for Dubai, where they arrived.
“Everyone was sort of wondering what was up, and then we got told the news that we would be heading home. It was an interesting 24 hours post that decision, but obviously New Zealand Cricket, the players’ association, [and] everyone on the ground in Pakistan obviously had our players’ safety first and foremost.”
