ENGLAND cricket hero Jonny Bairstow has made a desperate appeal to Keir Starmer after his England side were trapped in Dubai amid the Iran crisis.
Bairstow was in the United Arab Emirates with England‘s development team, led by Andrew Flintoff, for matches against the Pakistan Shaheens.
The Lions were set to play their second match against Pakistan on Sunday, but that contest was postponed following the escalating situation in the country.
And as US and Israeli military action against Iran escalated, tourists in Dubai found themselves trapped as airspaces and airports closed as a result of the conflict.
Dubai itself has been on the receiving end of retaliatory strikes launched by Iran, with smoke seen billowing into the sky after an attack on Dubai International Airport.
The team are therefore unable to return home as the city continues
“If anyone has any intel in Dubai please reach out. Keep safe.”
He then repeated the message on a follow-up story, and tagged Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the British embassy in the UAE.
The England Cricket Board released a statement setting out their safeguarding measures for the team.
They confirmed they were adhering to “official advice” and were “monitoring the situation.”
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The statement read: “The safety and security of our teams and staff is our top priority.
“We are in contact with security experts and the government in relation to current events in the Middle East, and are following official advice.
“We will continue to monitor and assess the situation and official advice in relation to the future of these trips.”
The board have postponed an England women’s trip to Abu Dhabi that was penned in for next week.
They did however confirm that the men’s team are still expected to attend their ICC T20 World Cup semi-final as planned.
The match is set to be held in Mumbai on Thursday, but the team were scheduled to fly through the Middle East on their way back from the tournament.
Bairstow and Co are not the only sportsmen to be trapped in the UAE.
Liverpool legend Graeme Souness revealed he was stuck in Abu Dhabi.
He shared a video to his social media in which he panned around the airport where he was stuck waiting.
He said: “That is my plane that I am meant to be catching to go back to the UK.
“My mum said to me – bear with me – when I was a little boy, ‘wherever you are, there’s never a dull moment’.
“Well, I’m at this airport, and we’re hearing some pretty loud bangs going off, and that is anti-missiles taking out missiles that are being fired at some American base.”
There have also been question marks over the implications that the US’s operations have for the World Cup, which they are due to host later this year.
Iran were scheduled to compete in group G alongside Belgium, New Zealand and Egypt.
But Iranian Football Federation president Mehdi Taj put their involvement in doubt, saying via Marca: “With what happened today and with that attack by the United States, it is unlikely that we can look forward to the cup.”
He added: “But the sports chiefs are the ones who must decide on that.”
