Australians wary after Bangladesh bombings

A rise in violence inside Bangladesh has caused a few concerns to be raised ahead of Australia's first tour of the country next year.

At the moment, Australia are scheduled to play two Tests and three ODIs when they visit next April, but last week's coordinated suicide bombings, in which nine people died, caused some jitters. The first blast was in Chittagong, the second in Gazipur, about 20 miles north of Dhaka.

"There's no doubt that we think the risk has escalated in recent times," said Paul Marsh, the chief executive of the Australian Cricketers' Association. "There have never been suicide bombings in Bangladesh until recently and that's a huge concern for us, as is the fact they have occurred in the two areas where the matches will be played."

Representatives from Cricket Australia and the ACA will be accompanied by security experts on a pre-tour inspection of conditions and facilities in Bangladesh at the end of January. A decision on the viability of the three-week tour will be made soon after.

"We will continue to monitor the situation, and certainly our administration is working closely with Paul Marsh and other members of the ACA," a spokesman for CA told Fox News. "But between now and our pre-tour inspection, all we can do is keep a close eye on what is happening there."

In the past decade, Australia have boycotted tours to Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe citing security fears. But the Bangladesh authorities could point out that the Australians were prepared to travel to London less than 24 hours after the July bombings left 56 dead and more than 700 injured. England also travelled to Pakistan, where they are at the moment, despite Foreign Office advice being far more cautious than it is for Bangladesh.