No international side has toured Bangladesh since 20 people were killed in a siege at a cafe in Dhaka in July.

The England and Wales Cricket Board said in August that tour would go ahead following a security review.

Jos Buttler will captain the one-day side, with the squads for the one-day and Test series to be named on Friday.

The tour features three one-day internationals followed by two Test matches.

England director of cricket Andrew Strauss said: “While we understand and respect Eoin and Alex’s decision, we are disappointed that they have made themselves unavailable for selection for the Bangladesh tour.”

He added that no further withdrawals are expected following “open and honest” discussions with all the players. England players Stuart Broad, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan and Liam Dawson have all publicly said they will tour Bangladesh.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan has described Morgan’s decision as a “huge mistake” while Nasser Hussain, another ex-skipper of the national side, said Morgan “should be with his team”.

But team-mate Ben Stokes tweeted his support for both players. England fly out on 29 September, with the one-day series starting on 7 October and the Test series on 20 October. They follow that with a tour of India, which begins on 9 November and features five Tests, three ODIs and three Twenty20s. Morgan, 29, said this week that he would never go on a tour where security concerns may affect his game.

“In 2010, we played an Indian Premier League game in Bangalore and a bomb went off in the ground,” he said. “We left and went straight to the airport.

“Another one was playing domestic cricket in Bangladesh during political elections and things were incredibly violent. Given that no-one has toured there since the terrorist attack adds a bigger decision to it.”

Bowlers Andrew Caddick and Robert Croft pulled out of England’s 2001 tour of India because of safety concerns following the 9/11 attacks in New York.

“I was adamant I didn’t want to go and stuck to what I thought was right,” Caddick told BBC Radio 5 before Morgan and Hales made their announcement on Sunday.

“It’s slightly different now. The security they implement in world cricket is quite high, whereas back in 2001 it wasn’t.

“Eoin Morgan has experienced risks to security in the past. Nobody else in the England team has. It’s a personal decision and it should stay that way.”

Former spinner Graeme Swann, who was part of the England squad that returned to India after the Mumbai bombings in 2008, said he would not travel to Bangladesh if he was still playing. “We are a target,” he said. “If I was in that situation, I wouldn’t go.”

Ex-England skipper Vaughan told BBC Radio 5 live that Morgan should go on the tour. “I don’t think the captain had any other option but to get on the plane and lead a young side. I do think it is a huge mistake that he has made,” he said.

“This young side will all be nervous because of everything around the side. There will be guards everywhere, they’ll have guns in their faces with security outside their rooms. The young England side won’t like what they see.

“He’ll continue in the side as captain for India – my question would be: ‘Are you safe going there?’ There is a similar Foreign Office warning.

“There will be a bit of banter created and he’ll have to take some stick when he’s back in the side, that’s the nature of being in a sports team. It’s one that I think he will live to regret.”

It says there is “a heightened threat of further terrorist attacks” in Bangladesh, although the threat level applies to many European cities, including London. It adds “foreigners, in particular westerners, may be directly targeted” and that “places where westerners are known to gather may be at higher risk of attack”.

It advises travellers to Bangladesh to “minimise exposure to these areas” and “remain vigilant, monitor local and social media and follow any specific advice of the local security authorities”.

Australia postponed their Test tour of Bangladesh in October 2015 after the Australian government warned of an increasing security risk to the team.

“Morgan has never expressed any positive views on making this tour, so his decision to pull out is not a surprise said former England fast bowler and BBC correspondent Jonathan Agnew.

“In his explanation, he refers to a bomb blast in Bangalore in 2010, an incident that profoundly unsettled him, as did civil unrest in Bangladesh. It won’t be lost on Strauss, though, that Morgan has returned to play in both countries since.

“However, having guaranteed that players’ futures will not be affected by this decision, it’s difficult to see Morgan losing the captaincy, as has been suggested in some quarters.

“Hales has effectively given another opening batsman the chance to take his place in Test cricket, although his future in that form was doubtful anyway. After a record breaking summer he’s sure to return to the one-day team in India.”

“The Gulshan cafe attack raised a lot of questions about the police’s ability to disrupt the terror network or bring the perpetrators to justice. A sense of fear had gripped both the expatriate communities as well as the locals who feared an escalation in the frequency and ferocity of attacks.

“But things have moved in the opposite direction lately. Since August, police have located and raided three hideouts of militants in and around Dhaka, killing 13 suspects.

“A sense of confidence is beginning to be generated among the population, that the police may be finally getting to grips with the situation.

“Despite these police successes, caution remains the mantra among expatriates.” – BBC

At the forefront is the situation regarding the limited-overs captain, Eoin Morgan, and the likelihood that he will not tour Bangladesh for the one-day series. Unless Strauss’ powers of negotiation have worked unexpectedly in allaying Morgan’s concerns, there does not appear much chance of changing his mind. Final confirmation is expected Sunday evening.

No Morgan, who turned 30 on Saturday, would mean a new one-day captain would be needed for the three matches in Bangladesh. Jos Buttler, as vice-captain, would head the list – he has led England once before, in a T20 against Pakistan – although, given his workload as wicketkeeper, longer-term Joe Root could be the likelier successor to Morgan when a permanent change is made.

Players have been assured that pulling out of the tour will not be held against them, but Strauss could not guarantee an open door straight back if others take their chance. If the player given a place by Morgan’s absence – Jonny Bairstow or Ben Duckett, for example – enjoys a prolific series against Bangladesh there will be a challenging situation for Strauss and the England selectors, although it seems highly unlikely that Morgan will not be England’s captain at the Champions Trophy. That could be the time it is considered whether he is the man to lead England all the way to the 2019 World Cup.

Beyond the difficulties presented by the Bangladesh tour, Strauss’ remit is also to keep thinking ahead. With that in mind, and the proximity of two major global one-day events in three years, there are likely to be some changes to England’s central contracts system when the new cohort are confirmed at the end of the September.

Since Strauss was appointed last May his mantra has been the importance of treating limited-overs cricket seriously. Led by the coaching staff, Trevor Bayliss and Paul Farbrace, plus Morgan’s captaincy, England’s white-ball cricket has often been spectacular in the last 18 months.

That is likely to be reflected in the updated contracts system, which could give greater weighting to white-ball performances while an increased number of deals could be handed out in order to include one-day specialists ahead of the Champions Trophy; the likes of Jason Roy, Chris Jordan, Liam Plunkett and David Willey could benefit. Morgan holds one of the current 11 central contracts as does Buttler who has been a limited-overs specialist for much of the last 12 months.

Ian Bell is also in the current batch but will lose his barring an unlikely recall for the winter tours. Jonny Bairstow and Chris Woakes, two of England’s major successes in Test cricket this season, will be in line for significant central contracts having only been on incremental deals for 2015-16.

“I’ve spoken a lot about taking white-ball cricket more seriously and creating a balance between the formats,” Strauss said. “I don’t think our central contracts system as it stands does that and we’ve been working on a creating a system that reflects that better.”

There is also a focus on the coaching staff as well as the players. There will be rotation among coaches this winter with Andy Hurry, the U-19 head coach, Paul Collingwood, Graham Thorpe and Steve Rhodes all having spells with the senior side.

“We understand how demanding touring non-stop is and how important it is for the support staff to be fresh but it’s also a way of introucing people to the environment,” Strauss said. “What we are trying to do with our coaching staff is ensure they are working up and down the programme from U-19s up to the England team.”

In terms of the selection process there will not be changes in the immediate future. There appeared to be tensions earlier this season when a majority of the selectors, led by medical advice, overruled Bayliss’ and Alastair Cook’s desire to have James Anderson available for the first Test against Pakistan after he had suffered a shoulder injury in the lead-up to the series.

Strauss, who has attended most selection meetings this season but does not have a vote, said he remains happy with the panel headed by James Whitaker which includes Mick Newell and Angus Fraser as well as Bayliss. Strauss’ focus continues to be making the vast amount of information collected on players used more effectively in selection.

“In terms of the personalities, I think it’s working well,” Strauss said. “The selection process has worked really well in the time I’ve been there. For me the real focus is the information we give the people making the decisions. Better use of technology, analysis, making it easier to tap into the huge amount of data we have on computers.”

The final names those selectors come up with for Bangladesh and India, which will be announced on Friday, will no doubt provoke much debate.

But their stand at the Rose Bowl was a New Zealand record for the third wicket in all ODI cricket, surpassing the 180 put on by Adam Parore and Ken Rutherford against India at Vaodara in 1994.
New Zealand lost a couple of late wickets and it needed a four by Tim Southee off Ben Stokes to see the World Cup finalists complete victory with an over to spare.
England were left regretting being bowled out for 302 with 28 balls of their innings left after skipper Eoin Morgan, who top-scored with 71, won the toss.
“Kane and Ross just keep churning out the results for us,” said New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum at the presentation ceremony.
Williamson, named man-of-the-match having also bowled Morgan with his off-spin, said: “That partnership in the middle was key, but it was so important to bowl England out.”
He added: “Ross has been outstanding, his contribution was massive.”