South Africa remain committed to tour of England after Manchester Arena attack

South Africa are planning to stay in central Manchester during the fourth Test against England at Old Trafford in early August

South Africa in training at a nets session (Getty)

South Africa were meant to be preparing for the first of three one-day internationals against England starting at Headingley tomorrow.

Instead, the build-up to the three-match series and the summer itself has been overshadowed by the appalling terrorist attack 40 miles down the M62 in Manchester on Monday night.

Eoin Morgan, England’s one-day captain, was right to state that at times like these sport must be put in its proper perspective. In the grand scheme of things it doesn’t matter.

Morgan himself opted to miss England’s tour of Bangladesh last October over security fears.

Morgan said the Manchester attack puts sport into perspective (Getty)

As it stands right now, South Africa remain committed to their tour of England, which includes next month’s Champions Trophy and then a four-Test series starting in early July.

The International Cricket Council, wary that the Champions Trophy, their tournament, is scheduled to start in eight days’ time have reassured all eight teams participating that security arrangements have already been beefed up following the Manchester attack.

Steve Elworthy, the tournament director, said: “Dave Richardson [the ICC chief executive] has been in contact, certainly emailing all of the teams participating. There’s certainly a communication channel open around this and that dialogue will continue. We’re planning for all eight teams to be here, absolutely.”

South Africa are planning to stay in central Manchester during the fourth Test against England at Old Trafford in early August. They expect to be sticking to those plans.

Dr Mohammed Moosajee, South Africa’s team manager, said: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Manchester. What happened last night is both abhorrent and despicable. Terrorism is a worldwide problem and civil society being held ransom by such cowardly acts is unacceptable.

“As you can understand we have some genuine concerns, the players are uneasy.

Moosajee said the South Africa players were uneasy (Getty)

“I’m happy to say we’ve had constant communications from the ECB and security manager. There have been guarantees put in place that security arrangements as they stand will be supplemented, starting today.

“There is a heightened sense of awareness. We’re told there will be more visible police at the stadium, at practice sessions as well as the hotels we will reside at.

“The hotel we will stay at in Manchester for the last Test is literally walking distance from where events unfolded last night and there has been genuine concern. The process has started to make the players reassured that arrangement are in place to keep them safe.

“We can never predict what will happen. As it stands I am comfortable with arrangements but we need to see what plans are put in place in some of the other cities.”

Asked whether South Africa would consider returning home on security grounds, Moosajee added: “We are honest enough to have those kind of conversations. Make no mistake, if this had happened in any other country in the world that is the first question people would ask: is the tournament at risk? Is the series at risk? Will the Champions Trophy take place?

“As things stand there’s no mention of us even thinking of abandoning the tour. If the intelligence information tells us something else we would obviously have to reconsider.”

The match in Leeds, which is expected to be close to a sell-out, will see a more visible police presence than had been originally planned and security measures at the ground have also been tightened.

AB de Villiers waits to bat during a nets session at Headingley (Getty)

Both teams will wear black armbands and observe a minute’s silence before the start of play in honour of those who lost their lives in Manchester.

So while the result of the match might be important for both teams as they intensify their preparations for the Champions Trophy, Morgan was right to convey the message that the bigger picture is far more important.

“It certainly puts things in to perspective for everybody around the country and around the world,” he said. “And when something like this happens so close to home it hits you a little bit harder. It emphasises that life is very short and can be taken away at any stage.”

AB De Villiers, Morgan’s opposite number, added: “It was a big shock and it’s very sad what happened. There was a lot of chat in the breakfast room this morning. But it’s important to concentrate on the job in hand no matter what. We have full trust in the authorities and the people in control of making us safe.”

De Villiers is expected to shake off flu to play his first match of the tour at Headingley having missed both his country’s warm-up matches against Sussex and Northamptonshire.

AB De Villiers was shocked by Monday's attack (Getty)

Morgan, meanwhile, has confirmed Moeen Ali will return to the team after being dropped for the two ODIs against Ireland earlier this month.

Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes will all be back in the XI after missing that mini-series to continue playing in the Indian Premier League.

It means Jonny Bairstow will miss out on his home ground in Leeds despite scoring 72 from 44 balls in his last match against Ireland at Lord’s.

Mark Wood and Liam Plunkett are expected to both retain their places in the seam attack, with David Willey set to miss out.