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Graeme Swann, the England offspinner, has pledged that he will travel to Pakistan should the Champions Trophy go ahead, despite the uncertainty over the country’s political stability.

The ICC’s task force has been in the country assessing the security over the past week, but their most difficult issue is in convincing the players. ICC’s security advisors are being dispatched to England, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa to persuade the boards that the players’ concerns are unfounded. Swann, however, is not one of them.

“In Sri Lanka last year there were bombs going off while we were there,” he told PA. “But you did not feel threatened by it – because you have got the security detail, and the army give you escorts. I’d certainly trust what [ICC security expert] Reg Dickason says – after spending some time with him – so I’ll have to wait and see what he says.”

Swann has only played 12 ODIs for England, spread over eight years, so any opportunity for him to swell his experience on the field is not one he can easily pass up.

“It is obviously tricky – because if you are in a position like me, having only played a dozen or so internationals, you certainly worry about giving your place up and not winning it back,” he said. “Inside me, I think I would not have a problem; I’d trust in them – but then your family is saying you must be crackers and your girlfriend is saying, ‘I don’t want you to go’. “That’s when you start thinking, ‘Hang on a minute’.”

The decision to tour Pakistan, though “tricky” due to safety concerns, cannot be compared to playing in Zimbabwe, Swann admitted. “It would be completely different if it was on moral grounds,” he said.”The Zimbabwe trip would be a complete no-brainer – you just wouldn’t go there, if you can sleep at night.”

Source:Cricket News

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