South Africa pull out of Pakistan tour

[NickiSlater]

South Africa pull out of Pakistan tour
Wisden Cricinfo staff - September 20, 2003

South Africa have pulled out of their tour of Pakistan, scheduled to begin next week, citing security concerns. The squad was scheduled to leave for Pakistan on Sunday, but a bomb blast on Friday in Karachi - local police maintain that it was not a terrorist outrage - resulted in a last-minute change of heart. South Africa were scheduled to play three Tests and three one-day internationals in Pakistan.

South Africa have attempted to placate their hosts by offering to play their series on their soil, or at a neutral venue, or even postpone it to a later date. "The decision has been taken with much regret," said Ray Mali, president of the United Cricket Board. "We know how much the tour means to the people of Pakistan and it is also a tour which we have been looking forward to. But the safety of our players is our primary concern."

The Pakistan Cricket Board were left shellshocked by the decision, coming just 36 hours after South Africa had confirmed that they would fulfil their commitments. Rameez Raja, the PCB's chief executive, confirmed that the PCB had received a fax cancelling the tour.

"They have shocked us by calling off the tour," said Raja. "It's uncalled for and disappointing."

A UCB delegation had visited Pakistan last week, and pronounced that it was safe to play, even though the PCB had refused to shift macthes from Karachi and Peshawar.

Bangladesh, who finished their tour tomorrow, are the only team to have played a full series in Pakistan since the September 11 attacks in 2001. New Zealand went home midway through a tour last year after a bomb exploded outside their hotel in Karachi. Series against West Indies and Australia were then played on neutral soil, with both Sharjah and Colombo hosting Test matches.

[Donny]

Understandable but disappointing.

Pakistan would have given this Test series a real shake.

Their pace attack looks dangerous with Akhtar, Sami and Gul all in good form with one of the all rounders, Razzaq and Mahmood, providing the back-up.

It will be a blow to Mushtaq Ahmed who has just completed a bountiful season with Sussex and was hoping for a return to his national team. Saqlain and Kaneria would also have been vying for the spinner's spots.

Hameed burst on the scene with a century in each innings on debut and Youhana and Inzi are back in form. Younis Khan is a real talent and Latif and Razzaq (or Mahmood) are excellent at 6 & 7.

[Donny]

Pakistan appeal to ICC, and set South Africa a tour deadline
Wisden CricInfo Staff - September 22, 2003

Pakistan have sought the aid of the International Cricket Council to force South Africa to honour their commitment to tour their country. If South Africa won't, Pakistan have said they have no other option but to enforce their right to take the matter, and a $US7million claim for damages, to the ICC's disputes-resolution committee.

Lt-Gen. Tauqir Zia, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), made the written request today. South Africa cancelled the tour on Saturday, on the eve of their side leaving for the tour. What Pakistan have called an "isolated" bomb exploded in Karachi on Friday, about five miles (8km) away from the National Stadium where South Africa were due to play their opening tour game, a one-day warm-up match, on Wednesday. The first one-day international was also scheduled to be played there, on Friday.

Pakistan have given the South Africans a deadline - this evening - to make their final decision. Zia said the bomb incident, in which there were no casualties, occurred because of a feud between two factions, and was not a terrorist act.

Zia has written to the ICC president Ehsan Mani and warned that if the ICC did not intervene, Pakistan would be forced to refuse to honour its own commitments to those countries who decline to visit them.

"The ICC must keep in mind the loss Pakistan cricket will suffer due to this act of the United Cricket Board of South Africa. We have already suffered at the hands of the Indian government's reluctance to allow the Indian team to play with Pakistan. The loss is to the tune of $US30million. If other teams also do not visit Pakistan then the loss to Pakistan cricket will be unbearable.

"It is not only the loss because of the South African visit but also the reluctance of the subsequent teams. Pakistan cricket will lose around $US7m from the South African tour and $US3m from New Zealand's tour. And if India chooses not to send its team to Pakistan in February, the loss will be $US11m."

Zia also made the point that while the cancellation affected revenue, there were also costs to the promotion and development of cricket, the cost in terms of the public being deprived of their chance to watch sport, the loss to Pakistan television which would not be able to generate advertising on the back of the cricket, and also cost involved in maintaining huge stadia that were not being used.

"Such losses are unacceptable to Pakistan cricket," he said. "We have already written to the UCBSA suggesting postponement by a week, and excluding Karachi as a venue. We expect the UCBSA to cooperate with us as we have done with everyone including touring countries where the threat to the security of players was far more serious.

"We expect the ICC to intervene and instruct the UCBSA to take the tour as planned. We would hate to end up in a situation whereby we are forced not to honour our commitments to those countries who decline to visit Pakistan.

"Bangladesh played the fifth ODI of their series in Karachi without any security concerns," said Zia, who then added: "Furthermore, the ICC match referee Mike Procter, who is from South Africa, also does not support the decision of the UCBSA."

Zia said he had spoken twice with the South African high commissioner in Pakistan and that he also did not support the UCBSA decision. According to him, Pakistan was a safe place, particularly for South African nationals.

Zia also reminded the ICC president of the 1998 incident in which the PCB was under pressure from some Pakistan team members to cancel their tour of South Africa after the mugging incident in which two of their players were injured. "The crime rate in Johannesburg is far greater than anywhere else but teams visit South Africa regularly. On the contrary, Pakistan government has assured security to visiting teams of the level given to the VVIPs."

Zia said that the UCBSA had taken a unilateral decision without consulting the PCB, the ICC or their High Commission in Pakistan. "They had initially expressed reservations on playing at two venues, Karachi and Peshawar, but later agreed to go ahead with the tour after their security personnel visited Pakistan. These personnel were fully satisfied with the security aspects and on the basis of their assessment, UCBSA allowed the tour to proceed as scheduled."

In a separate letter, Zia enlisted the support of the Asian Cricket Council through its president Mohammad Asghar Ali, and requested a united front be put forward as resolved at the ACC special general meeting in Sharjah last year.

That resolution was: "...It was further decided that in case of failure by any country within or outside Asia for reasons not beyond the control of the cricket boards and force majeure, the four Test-playing countries of Asia would automatically refuse either to visit or host that particular country."

Zia asked Asghar Ali to consult with other members and request both the ICC or the UCBSA to ensure the tour goes ahead, and that the matter be given top priority.

[Donny]

Miandad leads the protests
Wisden CricInfo staff - September 21, 2003

The Pakistan team made their feelings clear over South Africa's last-minute tour cancellation by wearing black armbands in their fifth and final one-day international against Bangladesh at Karachi.

Javed Miandad, Pakistan's coach, said: "Today's match is our answer to South Africa ... that by pulling out of the Pakistan tour they have promoted terrorism." Miandad added that the players were disgusted, echoing the wave of bitter disappointment across the country. "If they did not want to come they should have said so straight away. Why make lame excuses?" said Miandad, who has insisted that the security fears are unfounded and that Pakistan has been wrongly targeted as a no-go zone.

The South African board offered to play the series in a neutral venue or in South Africa, but the PCB declined and is desperately trying to reschedule the tour and change venues. Intikhab Alam, a former captain, also had his say: "It's a very unfortunate decision because the law-and-order situation even in South Africa is not good."

South Africa called off their tour only 24 hours before they were due to depart, saying that the security in Pakistan had descended to an unacceptable level. The decision was triggered by a bomb blast in an empty Karachi office block on Friday night in which no-one was injured.

[Donny]

Boucher has mixed feelings over tour cancellation
Telford Vice - September 21, 2003

Mark Boucher has admitted to having mixed feelings over South Africa's decision to cancel their tour of Pakistan. The South Africans were scheduled to depart for Pakistan on Sunday, but the board pulled out of the tour on Saturday in the wake of a bomb blast in an office block in Karachi on Friday. "It's a sad thing for an international cricket tour to be called off because it's not safe for players in a different country," Boucher told Wisden CricInfo.

"I feel sorry for the Pakistanis. Apart from the Bangladesh tour they haven't been able to play a home series for ages, and I know we wouldn't enjoy having to play all of our matches away from home. Some of our guys who haven't played in the sub-continent are missing out, but I'm sure they will get the chance again."

That said, the cancellation couldn't have come at a better time for Boucher and his team-mates. "We've just come off a long tour, three months away in England," Boucher said. "We had 10 days between the tours. That's just about enough time to get your washing done and start packing again. That's what I mean when I say I have mixed feelings about it."

However, Boucher was at pains to point out that the team was committed to the tour before the Karachi blast. "It wasn't the players' decision [to pull out of the tour], it was the UCB' s," he said. "The players were worried because there was a safety issue, but we were ready to go." The cancellation followed an earlier decision to proceed with the tour that was taken after a UCB safety delegation visited Pakistan. That decision was conditional on the security situation in the country not deteriorating before or during the tour. "We agreed that if the risk assessment changed the decision to go would be reconsidered," Boucher insisted.

The chief executive of the South African Cricketers' Association, Tony Irish, was quoted in a Sunday newspaper as saying the players were "hugely relieved" the tour had not gone ahead. Boucher confirmed that view. "Let's not beat around the bush, the sub-continent isn't the best place to tour," he said candidly. "There is a big culture change and you are confined to your hotel most of the time. But it is an important part of a player's development. It does your skill levels the world of good to play there."

Boucher said he would make productive use of most of his unexpected time off. "I think I'm going to play a bit of golf, and I'm looking forward to doing some pre-season training with Border. It's an opportunity for us to play in our domestic competitions, because as national players we have a responsibility to our provinces as well." Followers of provincial cricket, at least, will not feel short-changed by the international non-event. "Our first match is against Western Province, which means you'll have Makhaya Ntini, Monde Zondeki and Charles Langeveldt up against Herschelle Gibbs, Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis," Boucher said.

[Donny]

South Africa tour set to get underway
Wisden CricInfo staff - September 23, 2003

South Africa's delayed tour of Pakistan is set to get underway in early October, after a last-minute deal with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Following Friday night's bomb blast in Karachi, the PCB has agreed to cancel two matches due to be held in Karachi and Peshawar. The new itinerary will comprise three ODIs but just two Tests, one fewer than originally intended.

Confirming the news, PCB officials said the United Cricket Board (UCB) had agreed in principle to the rearrangement, after consultation with South African government, Eric Simons, the coach, and Graeme Smith, the captain. Written approval will be received before the end of the week.

"We made a decision on Saturday, based on information from our security consultants who had also been in contact with intelligence agencies," said Gerald Majola, the chief executive of the UCB. "That information was that the situation in Pakistan, particularly following a bomb blast in Karachi on Friday evening, meant that sending our team to Karachi on Sunday as planned would have constituted an unacceptable risk."

"The Board has at all times been committed to making every effort to ensure the tour could go ahead, with the safety and security of the national squad as our primary concern," said Majola. "The tour is important to both Pakistan and to South African cricket and we are sympathetic with the disappointment expressed in Pakistan when the team's departure for Karachi on Sunday had to be called off. We appreciate the PCB's compromise on an abbreviated tour, and that compromise is indicative of the continuing good relationships between our two boards."

"We feel it is a welcome sign for cricket in Pakistan because we have gone through very hard times in the last four days," said Rameez Raja, the chief executive of the Pakistan board. "[There were] misconceptions about Friday's blast," he said. "After talking to our security officials, [South Africa] got the clear picture that the blast was not linked to terrorism."



Ehsan Mani, the president of the ICC, expressed his satisfaction at the outcome of the discussions. "Over the past two days, this has allowed all parties to get a considered, fact-based and accurate understanding of the security and safety concerns and of the way in which these are being managed. I am very pleased that through this process the PCB and the UCB have reached this in principle agreement."

However, Mani criticised the haste with which the tour had earlier been called off. "I am concerned that there appeared to be a lack of consultation within the international cricket community before the initial decision not to tour was taken," he said. "This meant that both the ICC and the PCB were not given the opportunity to provide relevant information to the UCB as it considered its position.



"One solution may be to introduce a cricket-wide protocol for this type of situation, where any country that is facing the situation the UCB has had to deal with is obliged to consult with both the ICC and the host country before reaching a decision. In that way every country would retain its right to determine where and when its team plays but it would also ensure that all parties affected by its decisions would be able to have their views considered and discussed as a decision is being made."


Mani promised that he would raise the issue at the next meeting of the ICC's executive board, which is scheduled for the Caribbean at the end of October.