Pakistan Under-19 team mistaken for asylum seekers during Portsmouth protest
The England and Wales Cricket Board is reviewing security arrangements for the remainder of Pakistan’s tour after masked protesters gathered outside the team’s hotel.
Pakistan’s Under-19 cricket team was mistakenly identified as asylum seekers during an anti-migrant protest outside its hotel in Portsmouth, prompting the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to review security arrangements for the rest of the tour.
Masked protesters gathered outside the team’s Marriott hotel on Tuesday night, reportedly believing asylum seekers were being housed there. They left after learning that the guests were Pakistan’s touring cricketers, according to Reform county councillor George Madgwick.
The Pakistan Cricket Board’s chief operating officer, Sumair Syed, told the BBC that players reported people knocking on their doors. He said the players behaved responsibly and did not escalate the situation.
The ECB has contacted the Pakistan Cricket Board and is reviewing the team’s security. The review remains ongoing and does not itself establish that players were attacked.
The incident followed anti-migrant protests in Portsmouth earlier in the week. British media reported clashes between hundreds of protesters and police on Sunday after a dinghy carrying asylum seekers arrived in the UK.
Pakistan’s team played its scheduled match the following day and won by 177 runs.
