The PCB is not blameless either. While Dr Ashraf and Co will state how powerless they are in the face of Cricket Australia's irrational decision, the decline of Pakistan cricket over this decade, both in performance and as spectacle, are contributory factors--although they never will be surfaced.

There is no value in a blindly patriotic defence of the PCB's position. Cricket is Pakistan's most important sport and public entertainment. Yet the PCB, through a combination of poor judgment and dubious ethics, has turned Pakistan cricket and the international team into something of a sideshow on the international stage. Some of this outcome is caused by distorted international perception but a major contributor is the chronic maladministration of cricket in Pakistan.

This is the latest in a long succession of wake-up calls for the PCB. Cricket in Pakistan needs urgent revival but it is not clear that the men in charge are fit to administer the shock therapy that is required.

Arent we a bit emotional here? And also, i dont think morally its too great to provide heavy security to 11 people when a good part of the country is open to terror attacks. Cricket is just a sport, Life is much more than that.

I am very pessimistic about the future of Pakistani Cricket. The PCB having been nothing short of disasterous in their running of the game. Case in point being M. Yousaf . Dropping him the 20:20 W.C and stating that this was because he was a poor fielder was very humiliating for one of our senior/star players. Other boards would have publically stated that they wished to preserve him for the longer format irrespective of the internal reasons. They have no tact whatsoever and fail to realise that our players are the most important asset. Who can blame him for getting upset and signing up to the ICL after all the great service he has provided to Pakistani cricket.
As with most Pakistanis,I used to look forward to matches with India as a game between to relatively evenly matched teams, our bowling might against their batting. Sadly no longer is this the case. As the Indiam games becomes more professional , our game is declining to the extent as that of the W Indies. PCB to blame

very true,

we will be missing some good cricket between the two sides.but australia will have the edge

Kamran, I am amazed how you have used your journalistic knack of twisting stories to turn the failure of the C.A. administration into a PCB failing.Whilst criticism and enquiry are useful tools in holding up a magnifying glass to any organisation it has become clear that you are a cynic who holds a vendetta against the PCB.

Firstly, as I understand it the PCB made concessions an compromises to ensure Australia toured, for example, shortening the tour, changing the tour itinery,offering the best security available. Let me also add that you have a pretty bad record in judging decisions made by the PCB. Do you remember your damning blog about the inclusion of Misbah and Tanvir in the 20;20 tournament and your subsequent grovelling apology?
Need I say more.I have no interests in defending the PCB but it seems to me that if there is any failing, in Pakistani cricket, the administration is the first to be blamed.The fact that Australia pulled out SHOULD NOT be blamed on the PCB.

I have agreed all along with you that the Aussies should tour Pakistan but just like we are entitled to our opinion so are the Australians.Today's suicide bomb attack in Lahore has set even the hard cored Pakistanis like me in grave doubt over one's security in the country.For cricket i am disappointed but please tell me Kamran can we sit back and enjoy cricket while every day in one or another part of our motherland our fellow Pakistanis,men,women even children are being blown to nothingness.The situation in the country is not SAFE sir because nobody has been able to control the storm of suicide attacks.I am no fan of the Aussies with their arrogant style of playing and their sledging and like true bullies crying when they get a dose of their own medicine...but they have the right to consider safety for their citizens no matter what the world says.

Totally disagree with your comments. It is fine to be jingoistic and preachy, but if you think practically the decision is correct. If this was the case in India or Srilanka, I would have said the same. Cricket should never be made a political tool to prove a point but it should be played for enjoyment and for the love which people have for the game. If you have any sort of tension going arround, how do you expect the spectators to come out and enjoy without any fear or apprehension or sorrow for the loved ones lost.
They have not cancelled the tour but postponed it and that is wise, when things are better and happier, cricket can resume. The frequency of the blasts is very high for anyone to ignore them. Even the cricketers have families and feelings.
In our part we have tendency to blame the board, here the board cant do much as its a Govt issue.
PS - Just coz a new blog has started, you will not post my 2 messages on the previous blog on IPL ? Discussion was still on, isn't it?

Kamran, enough is said about Cricket Australia, I can’t add anything to it but terrorists won yet again and anyone who watches Australian advertisements portraying themselves to be hard asses can see how the CA is running with its tail between the legs, I mean this only for CA and some senior Australians players. As for as PCB is concerned, what do you expect from a doctor who has no direct cricket nor management experience running the show in Pakistan? I do give him credit for setting up the central contracts for players as well as a full time selection committee but only for set up not the execution or management of it. I’m afraid it will take a while for Pakistan to become a top side because unlike India who has its core players intact like Sachin, Dravid, Ganguly, and Kumble; we loss of some good players and the current players have fitness issues. We must introduce young players but gradually and must pay attention to cricket infrastructure. Once upon a time Sialkot was known to be one of the fastest pitches in the world. I can’t name any current venue with lively pitches. There is nothing wrong with slow and spin friendly pitches but some venues should be lively to test batsmen.
At the end I wanna talk about the Indian and Pakistani fans acting like bad neighbors and spitting bile at one another, which was evident in your previous blog. Chill out folks; keep your venom to yourself. There will always be some people who will not spare any opportunity to show their hatred and bigotry but the only way to shut them up is to avoid them. Pakistan can do well if they pay attention to education and employment. How unfair it is that annually it spends about $3000 per soldier and only $5 per capita on health and education. Good relations with India will do us good and India will also be able to spend more on social sector. It starts with us.

How can one really expect these incompetent dimwits at PCB to reform the Cricket system in Pakistan. These shameless characters belong not even in regional cricket boards, let alone the PCB.

Shame..shame again..on Nasim Ashraf for not standing up for Pakistan.

Its really Sad news but not unexpected, although I think Australia has a right to say that we cant come in current circumstances as the truth is that the situation is not stable, but their has never been a singles instance where sportsman has been targeted in Pakistan for any terrorist attack. They should have come and played at least three ODIs may be at the same venue and the test series could have been postpone for some time. But it has always been the same case that we always have to be deprived of by great cricket. The saddest thing is that there are few great cricketers like Adam Gilchrist who have already retired and never played a single test match in Pakistani soul. This is a great loss to Pakistan cricket.

Kamran, this is such a knee-jerk rant quite obviously resulting from humiliation and hurt to your national pride; hardly a measured, objective analysis expected from someone of your education and standing.

You are not better qualified than the security experts who studied the situation on the ground – on what basis can you say they are wrong?

You must remember that for the Aussie cricketers, staying alive for their families is a much higher priority than entertaining the Pakistani public.
Before you point out to other touring teams, keep in mind that the Aussie squad is of much higher profile, and hence are in more likely to be targeted.

You get all macho and demand ‘spine’ and ‘bravery’, but there is a thin line between bravery and stupidity – everyone has their own opinion regarding where it lies and you have no right to dictate to others where you think it is.

Hello Dr. Abbasi.
I am writing after a long time. Well, I have believed (like you and many others) in the past that teams must tour and security issues should not be a concern. But I have to depart my views here. Keep in front what has happened in Lahore today and then think as a common person visiting there with young wife and small children leaving behind. I want to ask you, 'would you like to take your family for a holiday trip to Sawat at the moment?' If your answer is 'yes' then I have to salute your bravery.

Seriously, it is just ridiculous. Pakistan cricket is in decline. Australia's refusal is unjustified, I am Pakistani and their withdrawal is making me think, is our country that unsafe or is everyone else seeing something we are not? Maybe Pakistan is destined to only play Asian and African nations at home.

Looks like Kamran has stopped reading the news!! Didn't you read about the latest bomb blasts in Karachi, which was supposedly 'safe' as per Pakistani standards? The bombings only vindicate Australia's stand. You can accuse them of wanting to play for IPL or lack of backbone or whatever, if that's what makes you sleep at night! The fact is it is becoming increasingly dangerous and spiralling out of control. First, fix the problem and then you can give as many sermons as you want!

According to ICC 6 year program pakistan will be playing only 54 tests as compared to england,australia and india
who are playing more then 75 tests and only 120 onedays as compared to almost 200 by india. most of the series will be played in winter season instead of playing in september,october and febraury,march. pakistan plays lot of two test match series. is PCB too week or they dont have
proper people to handle these issues or they are not strong enough to convince other boards to have proper tours. Every time the other teams shorten their tours. first south africa reduced their tour to 2 test matches and now austrlia is doing the same. india gets 4 test match series.
why no one is answerable to poor pitch preparation in pakistan. look at the ground conditions they are dusty,bouncy
the stadiums dont have proper seating arrangements. and regarding mismanagement lot of times test matches are not played on
sundays. our grounds lack capacitycompare to indian grounds.how kamran akmal can play despite dropping more catches then he actually catches and look at shoaib akhtar.it is shame to have him in the team.

There is no need for Pakistanis to say they are disappointed, frustrated and shocked or, they are in total dismay over the news that has now surfaced officially that the Australian tour is over. WTF? We all knew the inevitable, since a long time the writing's on the wall loud and clear and we also knew the cat would be out of the bag and say: "Meaw," which only means one thing and you may keep on interpreting it as postponed, deferred, delayed, put-off, suspended or canceled, what difference does it make? Coming to the bottom line of Kamran's thread here, he is unsure whether : "the men in charge (the PCB) are fit to administer the shock therapy that is required." The term shock therapy has come to arouse a great deal of controversy. Its original use was related to the use of electrical shocks as therapy in psychiatric treatment. In sports medicine Aversion Therapy is used but, that is mainly to deal with various types of addiction. Its a type of behaviour modification, which relies on negative reinforcement. Other than that, its use is considered as either illegal, immoral or unethical, hence the reverse therapy is required and i.e., to start from the basics. Breaking or breaching a contract or an agreement is also illegal, immoral and unethical. There cannot be two set of rules for the ICC and the CA. As Lawson says: "It is a shame that we are not playing Australia at a time when they are beatable." Therefore, I take this reasoning as more logical and more rational than the security concerns expressed by CA, to which Lawson has responded: "The security situation in Pakistan is unrelated to cricket. Bombs do go off. You can't argue with that. But they're focused on particular targets that have nothing to do with sport, and particularly nothing to do with cricket." The boards have not failed, "they are like this only." The people and the players need to stand up and change them.

Come on, surely if you were an Australian player you would not want to go to Pakistan amidst the turmoil. 20 killed and over 200 wounded in the latest blast. The ACB is quite justified in their stance to protect their employees.

It is a pity that Australia has refused to tour Pakistan! It is strange that nothing dangerous has ever happened to any foreign player in Pakistan! But the place where Mr. Bob Woolmer was killed inside a hotel room i.e West Indies is a safe country for Australia. Strange is'nt it?

AUSSIES R RUNNING FOR MONEY
AND IPL IS THE BEST WAY TO GET THE MONEY

With all due respect, there was another bomb blast in Pakistan just yesterday. I don't see how you can blame the Aussie board for their decision on this.

I very rarely miss reading your comments and I have agreed with you on almost all of them. However I will not agree with you at this time. I think the blame entirely goes to Cricket Australia, they have failed to meet their obligation. This is just an excuse for them not to visit Pak. All their players eyes were/is on big money in India. I think ICC in general and CA in particular has some agenda against Pakistan cricket. Pakistan should team up with India and do everything in their power to stop CA racist moves and give them a taste of their own medicine.

Pakistani cricket is in danger of slipping into unknown. The Pakistani cricket establishment need to wake up if they have to save the cricketing culture of this cricketing giant of a country. Money talks and future is here. the only way out I see is that pakistan should accept the the league cricket (IPL/ICL) whole heartedly and make sure its budding cricketers atleast participate in ICL and take advantage of training and other facilities. otherwise playing Bangladesh and Zimbambwe will only acclerate the process of decline and cricket would become new hockey for pakistan.

This is a truly pathetic scenario. I would love acb to answer this. Pakistan has a country has regular trouble since 2002, since then, england, india, west indies, south africa, zimbabwe have all toured. If the security is good enough for them then why is not good enough for the big headed aussies. They just clearly think they are bigger than the game itself. They make me sick.

Too many terrorist attacks in Pakistan these days and playing under pressure is no fun

Well what do we expect from the gutless and spineless Cricket Board of Australia? The real reason they don't want to tour Pakistan is there is really nothing in Pakistan for them to do. They cannot go clubbing or partying like they can go on the Indian tour. Besides, after the drubbing they have gotten from India their back is pretty much broken and Ponting and his boys wants to hide behind the so called "Security Situation in Pakistan". I have two word for Australians Cricketers, "Shameless" and "Gutless"

Agreed. The Aussies are a bunch of spineless idiots. They boycotted the last tour as well. Pakistan should boycott any future Australian tours

This column should be called "Pak Whine" instead of "Pak Spin." Just complaints, complaints and more complaints. No real criticism. Yeah, we all know that the ICC and all boards are incompetents - so? why waste time pointing out the obvious?

pakistan should not go to australia to play cricket until the auussies come to pakistan. It been 10 years now since they have not come, what a joke. Do the australian cricketrs think that there lives are more impotant than pakistan players. Even england came to pakistan and there more involved in war than australia. Did anything happen to them? no. Australia need to get off there high horse. Pakistan should not go to australia .

I think this was on the cards. Cannot expect anything better than this from Australia.

How can you say that the decision is irrational? It is not of any use to quote advantages of touring Pakistan and strengthening relations, when on the other hand you are balancing your life. They are cricketers, not soldiers or anything else of that sort. It was the foolhardiness of the BCCI which led to the Indian Team touring Pakistan - I shudder at what would have happened had the bus carrying the team exploded.

How naive can you be?
As you were writing this article there was a bomb blast in Lahore.
Pray tell why should anyone have to sacrifice their lives to play cricket for a nation that doesnt have control over its own populations?
I mean when does your whining stop? When a whole team is blown to bits, at least then will you accept cricket cannot be played in a climate of fear or will you perhaps request a second XI to be flown in.

All I can say is puck ... puck ... puck ... puckACK. One would have thought that seasoned international travellers would have demonstrated a more nuanced outlook and seen beyond the superficial media coverage at the actual possibilites of being the target of a suicide attack. The Australian Cricket Board demonstrated a simlar lack of backbone in failing to enforce its writ.

icc is a joke........ IND decided not to play PAK in the past....what happened? ICC didn't do anything...there is no control..

Mr Abbasi, you are on a roll, and if you continue generating content at this prodigious rate, you may have to give up "the day job" or at the very least, up the fees for your services. Anyway, good work and keep it up.

Apropos Australia's decision to CANCEL the tour, I must say that while I understand their cowardice in refusing to tour, given their cultural history etcetera, I must say this business of using the word "postpone" is just outrageous poppycock and balderdash as those imperialists of yore might say about those things they object to, whatever they might be. If it isn't enough that the Aussies can't stand up to the BCCI's monopolistic tactics regarding the IPL versus the ICL, Cricket Australia has now truly imbibed the kind of obnoxious legalistic double-speak that makes one properly sick in absolute disgust. How does using the word "postpone" remove you from the consequences of and precedents established by, cancelling the tour? These Aussies are positively comical.

Please tell me how does it feel to live in your own fantasy world and not care about reality? coz if it's fun, I would like to do so too! You seem to have this special ability to not able to differentiate between reality and fantasy! If you don’t believe me, ask Jeff Lawson? :)//sarcasm
Like I said in my comments in your last article , what guarantee can you give to CA? if you can please let me know and we will give you a very well paid job in Pak Security Agencies so that you can stop the terrorism altogether, why just stop at cricket!
As far as your PCB paragraph goes, what are you trying to prove? Are you saying that PCB could have done something different to get the CA here? . I have always been critic of PCB for their pointless policies and stupid decisions, but I fail to see how they could have done anything differently to make this tour happen!
Your last paragraph seems like a worthless attempt to put all blame on PCB and make sure readers are happy that you did find a solution

In todays world we all need to put a brave front against the violence. To this end sports
plays a major role. I think Australia have missed an opportunity. Their visit to Pakistan would have been a bigger anti-terror statement than their participation in Afghanistan. I think they should have formed a team of the willing, I am sure they can find 15 players willing to tour. They could have reduced the duration, changed
some venues but calling off the tour is unfair.
In this period of strife the least that can be done for the people of Pakistan is to give them some cricket to cheer. It
would have been great advertisement for the game.

OK, so the security situation in Pakistan is bad. Who is to blame for it? The innocent people of Pakistan are suffering for the last three decades for the doings of others.

How safe is Australia, or for that matter South Africa or West Indies for other touring parties? Are'nt they robbed? beaten? manhandled? racially abused and looked down? is'nt that security concerns?

Even though the troube in Pakistan is politically related, still the PCB had offered 100% fool-proof security and head of state protection to Australian team, it was not enough.

It was the meek and weak stance of the incompetent PCB bosses that dragged it to this day. They should have accepted or suugested to move the series to Australia to avoid this eventuality. This way both the boards could have saved face and the series.

This would have presented Pakistan to try out some new talent in hard, bouncy pithes of Australia.

It is still not too late. I hope and pray that some better judgment prevails.

What ?? Absolutely no idea what you are babbling here? How is PCB and the "decline of Pakistan cricket over this decade" contributing factors for the cancellation of this tour? What's with you journalists jumping to attack your home boards on each and every issue.
There is a very balanced piece on this topic written by your fellow countryman Osman. Go through that and try to learn what cricket writing is all about. Try to develop a better perspective on these issues or simply stop writing. I can't believe cricinfo actually allows you to post such rubbish.

Its the PCB who is responsible for the remarkable decline of Pakistani Cricket. The management seems utterly confused on all the major fiascos that has hit Pakistan Cricket in the last 2-3 years including handling the Oval test, Bob Woolmer's death, Shoaib and Asif's dope tests, the 2007 world cup and the list goes on and on....

I dont agree with you mr Abbasi. I think you need to do self check how safe people in pakistan are.
No person with white skin can feel secure there. Mr lawson is Pak coach if he were not a coach he would have supported withdrawal as aussie.
no cricketer got targeted yet but it can be anytime and imagine some mad mind throw explossive stuff when 30,000 watching? it can become nightmare for pakistani security who are allready leaving in fear.
there can not be cricket when you can not have normal life.
YES PCB should have acted early to find out some solution because aussies were not coming was forlong conclusion, why wait till press release. They should start working on what to do about champions trophy from word go and start assuming australia,newzealand and may be england are not coming, that will help.

Cricket Aus are not touring Pakistan for Personnel Security Reasons. Next month, some of their players will be playing in India for Financial Security Reasons

Mr. Kamran,

You sound like some other Pakistanis who think Musharraf is the root cause of all the problems faced by Pakistan today. It is sad but true, who wants to risk their life for the sake of a sport?
The truth is, these days nobody in Pakistan is safe. Especially, those people whose countries are involved in the so called war on terror. Being a Pakistani all my sympathies and affection are for my favorite Pakistan Cricket team but I can not argue with the logic of those who refuse to tour Pakistan under the prevailing situation. True, these heinous acts can be carried out anywhere in the World but, is not this true those who are thought to be aiding or sympathizing with the cause of so called War on Terror are especially vulnerable? Unfortunately, if Pakistan is not able to control its own mess we will only be playing with Zimbabwe, Kenya and Bangladesh. Sri Lanka might tour out of sympathy or India when they want to oblige us on a political, commercial or business level.

I've repeatedly read the interesting comparision of how Aus continued with their tour of England in 2005, when the London Underground was attacked. It's a strong line, but ultimately it comes down do this: Australians feel comfortable in England, and they don't feel comfortable in Pk. Bombs or no bombs, Pk would be most Australians least favourite destination. And bombs or no bombs, they'd feel perfectly at home in England, irrespective of the actual risk that they are under. I'm not saying it's right or wrong, but I challenge anyone to deny it.

i am ver much saddened and frustrated by CA decision not to tour pakistan. there was no security problem, as pakistan is a safe place to play cricket. PCB Should also scrap the return tour to australia in 2009.

I think Australia is justified in cancelling their tour because security situation in Pakistan, if you don not live in Pakistan and see it from outside world, is not really good. If go by statistics there may be many other countries in the world with worse security problems. But in Pakistan every thing from outside world has been blown out of proportions. I think Pakistani adminitration at higher level should take notice of it, and not only improve the security in Pakistan but also its image to the outside world. Pakistan Cricket Board is not responsible for it. Anyway it not good for the game of Cricket as a whole.

Well written piece. Both sides should take responsibility for the shortcomings. As I tried to say in your post on the "Letter to the Australians" (it seems my post was lost by the internet), the use of "security" as an excuse is just that: an excuse. And a poor one at that. When Kennedy was killed in 1962 and when there was the attempt on Reagan in 1981 was there any serious thought of staying away from the USA because it was a "dangerous" place? And what of India when the Gandhis were assassinated in 1984 and 1991? Was any team afraid to tour then or later?

If South Africa becomes the #1 ranked ODI team, I think they would have deserved it, since no team can credibly be considered the best (i.e. #1) in a league system if they refuse to play against some of the other teams (Pakistan, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe).

The PCB needs to get its act together too, otherwise England and NZ will soon be using the security excuse as well to avoid playing a poor form Pakistan.

MR KA, I agree that Postpone or cancellation of the tour will seriously damage Pakistan Cricket, but after today's incident, surely I will not force the Aussies to come and play in Pakistan, certainly because of the security conditions. I think War Academy or FIA offices are almost on the same road where the team was scheduled to stay most of the time. Even a Pakistani is not feeling safe here than how one can expect the Australians to come and play in such poor security conditions. Although I am passionate Cricket follower and was anxiously waiting for this series, which I guess if would have took place Pakistan would have lost most probably by 3-0 (if as per scheduled) and ODI's by 4-1. Thanks to wonderful FTP's, Pakistan is simply left with no Cricket and ultimately they are left to play Club level Cricket with Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. Thank U Dr Nasim Ashraf you are doing a wonderful job by simply finishing the Cricket in Pakistan.

Mr Abbassi, I would have expected a more balanced article for a journalist of your stature. While it is definitely sad to see this tour not happen, we cannot deny that CA have valid reasons. Situation in Pakistan, as depicted by media globally, is definitely volatile. Australians are definitely high profile targets of terrorist attacks compared to the South African and Zim teams that recently visitedl Pak. We must also not forget that Australian Army is supporting US forces in Iraq and have incurred wrath of fundamentalistic forces worldwide. Any incident, however less probable it may be, would ruin future of cricket in Pakistan. Is this really worth taking the risk?

Just to add to my post, I find Osman's article more balanced.

Cancellation of Australian tour of Pakistan is failure of PCB which is a group of idiots.I just pray to Allah please make PCB free of Naseem Ashraf kind of people who have bring Pakistan Cricket to such a low that it really hurt us who are die hard fan of cricket.We need a tough guy like Arif Abbasi who can bring tough stance and fight Pakistan case in front of whole world.

I am disappointed that the Aussies are not touring Pakistan as well. However, the point should be emphasised that this decision was not made in a vacuum. CA took government advice not to tour. The PCB and the Pakistan government were unable to adequately address the security issues and CA can hardly be blamed for that. We Aussies immemsely enjoy watching the talented and unpredictable Pakistanis because you never know what you are going to get. When the Pakistanis are hot, they are really red hot. The Pakistanis are well liked and respected here. I do hope that the series will go ahead eventually. I for one would rather watch Australia play Pakistan than India any day. At least for all of its faults, the PCB is not trying to control international cricket in its own interests and to the detriment of everybody else - unlike the BCCI.

Anybody from outside looking in will see Pakistan as a highly volatile and an unstable country. Whether this is true or not, it does not matter. The fact is, people living in highly developed countries such as Australia do not have such occurances and as such if one is planning to go to countries like Pakistan, then I can tell you that its damn scary.
Successive military coups has left Pakistan in a state where the popualtion has not been allowed to mature as a nation and to adopt values which are seen as being acceptable in to the international community.
Its sad for Pakistan...really sad.
I sympathise with Cricket Australia's Decision as I would not personally travel to Pakistan with what I currently see on TV.

The bias of the western society and, the media in particular, against muslims and Pakistan (which is a so called muslim country) is well known and documented; however, the so called muslims are providing appropriate rationale for this bias through their irrational behaviour. For God,s sake what is achieved by killing your fellow human beings just because they are shia or sunni or something else! It is time that ordinary muslims all over the world and, Pakistan in particular, have good think about the whole sorry mess and do something to stop the fighting and killing in the name of religion (i.e Islam) which is currently being villified by their action.

If the PCB really cares about the development of our National team and not about filling it's own coffers than they should agree to play the best teams anywhere. Does playing Zimbabwe and Bangladesh do us any good? Sure we will be playing at home and some money will be generated, but in the long run our standards are likely to drop further. I have extracted a section of previous post (2 blogs ago) that I feel is valid to this argument:
"I suggest we make Australia compensate us monetarily and then tour Australia instead. It goes without say that we will atleast be spared poor media coverage, substandard outfields, and dead pitches tailor made for wimpy adminstrators and captain(s). Does anyone really want to listen to inane comments by Zaheer, Mushy and co? As long as Pakistan is playing cricket who cares where we play - most people watch the action on TV anyway. I for one, prefer to see us play in Australia.Call them next year when, hopefully, they run out of excuses not to tour"

Headline - multiple shark attacks kill tourists in surf.
Headline, CA invites the pakistani cricket team to a come and learn how to surf in our nice safe beaches
Headline Pakistani cricket board declines...2 more shark attack victims.
thats what the uninitiated see. In reality, shark attacks do occur in Australia (occasionally), but it doesnt stop us swimming, but it scares the pants off the tourists, just like bombs do...

morally, the aussies should have toured to show that sport transgresses politics, but unfortunatley, there is not enough reward (player comfort and safety) to warrant a tour.

What was the point of this new thread as we have already had enough nonsense before and now again from the likes of Suraj (that never shines), John R, Jhonny Dangerous, Amar, Shankar etc?

Was the Australian 2nd class team that toured before more dispensable than this one?

I think Pakistan has suffered a double whammy with the Australians pulling out. Postponement most probably also means no insurance payout either as it’s not a cancellation. Thank you! Australia for fighting this “war on terror” together with us.

Can we have cyber-cricket at least between Aus/Pak to keep us interested? ;)-

S.Jayamane
Thank you for your support as well as for correcting me on the previous thread and for your rational views; except that Philip John Joseph is entitled to his views which at least are not needless jingoism.

I really do not understand the blame you are placing on the PCB. They have done as much as they possibly could to "let the show go on", but it was Australia's stubbornness which has caused the series to meet the end that it has. Australia would not even send a security delegation, which shows that possibly the reasons are not simply security fears. Australian cricket is at its most vulnerable position in many years, and CA doesn't want to expose its players. What a great excuse that their next tour is to one of the most volatile nations in the world.

Kamran, Its easy to comment on the Aussies when you sit in your room somewhere in England as you type away on your laptop. How often do you travel to Lahore, Karachi or Peshawar?? The terrorists may never have targeted the Cricketers in the past, but they could screw up and the cricketers might be an inadvertant target. Dr Ashraf always says thet Cricket related events are never targeted until it does happen. I am an Indian fan and wouldn't say anything in support of the Aussies unless it was really dangerous!!

The main purpose that this blog serves is to allow people with pre-existing grudges against Australia to express their bitterness and vitriol. It's quite sad.

I can understand the frustration of the Pakistani people regarding the cancellation of the tour, but any independent analysis of Pakistan cannot conclude that it is a safe place to tour under the current circumstances. Risking one's life to play sport is irrational, not the other way around.

And then there are people like Philip John Joseph, who would be hysterically critical of Australia and Australians regardless of what action they had taken. philly, the most comical thing is your rabid anti Australian attitude. Whatever caused the jealousy and anger you feel towards Australia, you need to get over it. It is very hard to take your comments seriously at the moment, given your child-like analysis of Australia and it's players.

I beg to differ from Kamran. The news coming out of Pakistan is nothing near to creating a fearless atmosphere. What is the point in playing Cricket in an environment like this? CA cannot be blamed for this decision, neither the PCB. To reply to everyone saying that no incidents has been reported against sportsmen till now: thats not the way you look at a security issue. Security is about ensuring that an incident WILL NOT occur. If it was past that was all relevant, historians would have been sufficient enough to assess security. As far as I know, Lahore has been away from all these issues TILL TODAY, right?

I was going to write (again) how I feel for the cricket fans of Pakistan, how I empathise with your feelings of being snubbed and looked down on. I read Sutherland's comments; he expressed regret for cancelling the tour but cricket administrators are the worst sort of politician these days; you can never be even a little sure that they mean what they say. But after reading what's been said herein, I don't know that I feel so sympathetic any more. To all of you who believe that the PCB could have provided a cast-iron security service to the Australian team, I suggest you knock on their door and start asking them to provide it to the Pakistani people instead. You're the ones who really need it right now. Become a peaceful country again (for your own sakes above all) and those of us from countries less used to indiscriminate violence will be flocking to come to you.

Those of you who live in Pakistan may not feel the threat of suicide bombing is intimidating as you have to deal with it every day and get on with your life. For someone who is not used to living in this environment, it is terrifying.

A lot of tourists who come to Australia can't believe that we swim in shark infested waters, our answer to them is that it is not that dangerous and considering millions swim every day the risk is quite low. Despite these assurances some tourists will refuse to go into the water. What is the difference?

When NZ toured Pakistan a bomb went off near the hotel where they were staying. Some players saw the carnage immediately after the bomb blast and a few were having counselling months after the incident to cope with what they saw. These same players spoke to the Australians during December's Chappell Hadlee Trophy and told them they would be mad to tour Pakistan at this time.

And now there is another bomb blast - who can blame them?

I am amazed at the attacks on Aussie cricketers, the ACA and PCB in here. This situation is NOT their doing. They aren't the ones in violent conflict. They are NOT the ones sending in suicide bombers and killing people in Pakistan. They just play and organise cricket, put the blame where it belongs. The Aussie governing body is reluctant to put their team at risk and face it, there is no way the PCB can "100% guarantee their safety". Lawson's comment about having the opportunity to play Aust while they are "beatable" is foolish. They have always been beatable, if you play well, like any team always is. However, I'm sure if Mr Lawsons fellow countrymen were all blown up in a bus they would become TOTALLY beatable!

Let's move the tour to the Green Zone in Iraq! After all, no sporting identities have been targeted there, so it must be safe!

Whether the 02-03 decision was correct or not is irrelevant. Other countries have toured in recent years, but the situation has deteriorated since then. Cricket is seriously not important enough to risk life over. There has been a increasing pattern of violence in Pakistan, with changing nature of targets and reduced safety in previously untouched areas (Lahore). Why offer terrorists such public targets as the World's No.1 team?

Mr Abbasi, how about putting pressure on your Government to get the country under control, instead of point scoring off Cricket Australia who, unlike you, are prepared to support the steps necessary to keep their people safe. Have some "Pak Spine" and lay blame where it is actually due.

Then again, you do seem to follow the Indian philosophy - distract attention from your own backyard by attacking outside it!

When Wasim Akram's wife had to call frantically to inform that there has been a bomb blast near their residence while he was busy doing commentary, that is a solid testimony for the ground reality that no security inspection can achieve!!!!

i think pak is undergoing a upheaval with elections etc..cricket can wait..not a big deal..

As an Australian I agree with CA about postponing the tour to Pakistan. It is unrealistic to think that the Australian players are not a potential target from suicide bombers. Writers from the sub-continent on this website love to blame Australia for everything. It is not the Australian cricketers fault that people in Pakistan blow themselves up and kill hundreds of innocent people. Pakistan has more than the postponment of the Australian cricket tour to worry about. Its sad how freedoms like watching and playing cricket for Pakistani's are stopped by their own religious and political conflicts.

Well I think perhaps Mr. Abbasi was somewhat brief regarding his reasons for putting some of the blame on the PCB. While I think it is a little unreasonable to expect the PCB to stay "ahead of the game" given the history of administration in the subcontinent, post-British Raj; depending on your point of view, Mr. Abbasi's point could be considered fair in light of the fact that perhaps Pakistan could have tried for a series in Dubai/Sharjah/United Arab Emirates, seeing as Dubai is now the bling-bling capital of the world, not to mention the headquarters of the ICC.

Australia not touring? While I find their 'postponement' statement cowardly, I do think that Bin Laden wouldn't mind taking a shot at the Aussies. If I was an arrogant Aussie, I would NOT want to mess with a guy who "dropped" the twin towers of the World Trade Center. Ponting thinks he's hard, but can he drop the WTC? That said, Australia should have offered a series in Dubai instead of going all out for the cop-out.

After reading some posts from Pakistani supporters who hate Australia so much, accusing us of being racist, spineless and gutless, it is easy to see why the world is so violent. Blaming Australia for all your problems won't help solve anything. Australia is probably the most multi-cultural country in the world, but people only choose to see the small amount of bad things that go on (mainly involved with cricket!). And these bad things are not comparable to suicide bombers. Australia is probably the safest, most un-racist country on earth. We all live in peace on this great land down under regardless of colour, race or religion.

How could Australia possibly tour now? If you are not a Pakistani resident (i.e. actually living there), ask yourself this: would you go there on holiday, knowing the present political and security situation? I would have loved to see Australia tour there, but you can't really blame them for calling off the tour, can you? I would still like to see it go ahead and soon, but not until things have calmed down a bit. No job is worth knowingly risking your personal safety for.

I agree that life - anyone's life is much more important than a sport. Point taken guys. Pakistan should now sit back and relax, play their series on "whoever comes gets served" basis, and then refuse to tour Australia in 2009 because of Gang activities in Lakemba, a couple of women being raped in Adelaide and the mistreatment of Aboriginal people in Alice Springs. Surely humanity and security is more important than cricket isnt it? Security teams shall not be sent, lest they get raped by those terrible lunatics running the streets in Australia.
Sanity needs to prevail.

Have fun with Bangladesh.

Whatever CA has done is deplorable.

But the question is will PCB have the backbone and refuse to visit Australia?

That said, I guess it is good in a weird sort of way ... the Australians would have destroyed the current Pakistani team and that would have lowered the interest level in the game amongst Pakistani fans.

For crying out loud. Clean up your backyard instead of forever complaining that people dont want to visit.
Terrorism isnt winning because Australia chose not to tour, terrorism is winning because Pakistan is a basket case of political, religious and social conflicts and being able to say "this region is less deadly than that region" is no reassurance.
I think you will find most Australians would gladly see Pakistan cricket flourish, and Pakistani fans cheering hard fought matches on their home turf, but no one with any sense would court the sort of risks that would follow sending a high-profile foreign contingent - certainly not for the sake of a game.

well A MONKEY DOES WHAT A MONKEY SEE - AIN'T IT YOU BUNGHOLE ANDY --- COWARDS AUSSIES

I am dissapointed that the Aussies are not touring. I believe they are being overly cautious.

Geoff Lawson commenting that the Aussies are beatable at the moment is laughable... beatable by who? Pakistan? .. I dont think so...

As for the calls to boycott travelling to Australia... I dont think CA or the Australian cricketing public would care too much... they might invite a team which may draw a crowd or TV audience...

If Pakistani security cant protect Benazir Bhutto, how are they going to protect an entire touring party?

Adil Ali, clubing and partying... is that the only thing you can come up with? Go back to your madrassa...

Philip John Joseph ...
Can you please expand on "given their cultural history" ?

There is an all out effort to condemn this thread of Kamran Abbassi as outrageous, atrocious, preposterous, shocking and blah, blah and the one who stands heads and shoulders above the heap of his own poop, is Amar. The kinda language he has used on this blog shows where he is coming from. After all he is the one and only Ichara ka choora. With one sweeping statement, he is blaming Kamran Abbassi , Osman Samiuddin for calling a spade, a spade and singing His Master's Voice tunes for his my-baap Australia. I think PakSpin is the most liberabl cricket blog where people like, Ishaan, Tarak and Amar can splatter their poop and still don't get booted. After all what else can anyone expect from La'hore's diamond market jeweler? He is utterly disappointed that La'horee "Miss Bah" was sold for only $125K, whereas, his fake topaz can fetch him more than that in the open market auction where, bidding is a game and cricket if for fame.

LOL, this whole "security concern" situation is ridiculous. For all of u that argue that one's life is more important, and pakistan cannot provide security to the Aussies, please do explain how is it that people such as Nelly Furtado, the WWE wrestlers, NBA players and various other celebrities, manage to visit Afghanistan, entertain the US soldiers when there are clearly more bombings and security concerns in Afghanistan! At the same time, how can various leaders of their countries visit Pakistan or Israel (a target of suicide bombings) and cricketers cannot come to Pak? And it's not about whining its not logical. And Mr. Abbasi is a better informed person than the Aussie security experts who did not visit Pakistan to analyse the situation. On the other hand Mr. Abbasi, Geoff Lawson, Nasim Ashraf and the entire Pakistani team live there and experience it first hand. Simply Aussies r persuaded by money & the lack of entertainment in Pakistan also contributes to their pulling out.

Our inability to control suicide attaks, and even worse, our sheer lack of disgust of such crimes have led to this day. I dont thik we should be hosting any international team specially wetern team, becuse thy will be the targets and one bad incident will stop all tours to Pakistan for long time.

While CA's decision was probably made even before the blasts in Lahore yesterday, after these blasts, I am afraid they stand vindicated. Yes, there were blasts in UK before the 2005 Ashes and India has suffered every once in a while at the hands of terrorists but when a major political leader is assassinated and nothing is SEEN to be done about it, things get more serious. Also, the Australian Board wants their players to use this slot to prepare for the Frank Worrell Trophy so one cannot accuse them of being subservient to the IPL either.

I am a Paki and I agree with the Aussies decision not to tour. Pakistan is not as dangerous a country as people claim but how can the Aussies who r fighting the war on terror send their players to cities which are minutes away from Bin Laden and Al qaeda. These terrorist have no morals, no ethics, they are criminals. They kill their own people so why wouldn't they kill Aussies...... So lets not blame the Aussies for this decision. Many Pakis don't want to come to the states these days because the fear of being questioned or harassed at the airport, thats no big deal if your innocent but the Aussies fear something worse, a sucide bomber. Suicide bombers are running around Pakland killing innocent pakis, so think hard and say to yourself, if they kill their own peeps then why wouldn't they kill White Aussies mate!!!!!!!!!!!

I believe it was a good decision by CA to cancel the tour at this time. My comment to your last article emphasized that Pakistan was dangerous as I have visited it recently, and that the situation is goin to get worse before it better. One of the guy responded the bombings have yet to have happened in Islamabad or Lahore; well here you go mister. I am sorry to say, but if I was an Australian cricketer and had the choice of either visiting or not: I would NOT visit. Cricket is just a mere sport. Life is much more important. Unfortunate but the terrorists are winning at this moment. I mean think about it; what is the point of cricket when children and women are been killed by ruthless people. The terrorists don't care, they will or would like to kill cricketers the first chance they get. I mean the terrorists have just started to spread their influence to the rest of the country from the safe haven of the north west.

The only good that can come out of this is that the pcb plays most of the young guns against bangladesh, whether we win or not should not matter but how these players develop as international players. GUys like Safraz Ahmad should be exclusive wicketkeeper and Nasir Jamshed and Khurrum Manzoor should be exclusive openers for the matches. bring back Asif and Gul slowly but introduce Sohail Khan, Anwar Ali and give sohail Tanvir more responsabilty during the bangladesh tour. I also think its time to drop Malik as a player, he captaincy performance does not merit an automatic spot in the playing 11.
Make Misbah captain, he's a thinking cricketer with strategy and logic and make Safraz Ahmad Vice Captain. Safraz is already a under 19 world cup champion captain now take that talent and groom him as the international captain. He reminds me of Rashid Latif but ten times better! Malik seems like he is not thinking and just doing things from the seat of his pants. Time to end this!!!

For the sake of all that is good and sane in this world, could you people show a little more empathy? The country is burning and you want to watch a stupid game? They are probably still uncollected body parts from yesterday's massacre. 24 people killed. Over 600 killed since the start of this year alone. An Arab body just called Pakistan the country second-most prone to suicide attacks after Iraq. Quite an indulgent analysis because I consider it to be the first. Stop for a second and dwell on these facts and maybe your tiny brains will be able to comprehend the gravity of the situation, and maybe, just maybe, realize that there are things in life more important than cricket. Oh and in the context of the situation, I completely agree with CA's decision. Stop imposing your myopic world views on others, and more importantly, stop being judgmental pricks, I know it our national past time but now is a good time as any to throw away old habits.

@Suraj: Super post dude. Agree completely. Among the plethora of mindless drivel which is usually found in this blog, yours is a shining grace.

BBC headline :24 people die in two bomb attacks - one at a key police building - in Pakistan's city of Lahore. How can police provide security to Australian team when they cant protect themsleves against fanatics and thr world knows fanatics are in majority in Pakistan. So the austrlian decsion was a correct one. Why risk playing in such a place where a bomb blast is a common occurence on daily basis. I can understand Pakistanis especially once settled abroad (read montreal) whining, becos they are upset they wont get something interesting to watch on TV. But why would CA risk their players life for some entertainment of people who stay abroad in safety and claim Pakistan is safe place. If its safe place why would some people stay abroad on EI ,rather than in boooming Pakistani economy as they claim.

Someone was whining why no one refused to tour US ,comparing USA security when Kennedy was killed. Just to inform, it was a lone gunman and not multiple fanatic religious groups and law and order was restored within a day. Pakistanis seem to whine that political asssinations happen even in India, but conveniently forget law & order is restored within days. The world has confidence in USA/Indian security agencies and their atitude and desire to restore peace. Same cannot be said about a country where the average is one suicide bombing a day. The killings in India/USA were by people who still care about their own lives , not suicide bombers who care a damn about their life & othe. So my dear friends the scenario is differnt. The incidents in US/India are controllable and have beeen controlled and finished. In Pak the situation seems to increase like a huge runrate and hence security concerns of CA and subsequent justified cancellation based on facts and figure and sound judgement.

Hi Kamran ,

You stated "As the general security situation in our world continues to deteriorate perhaps cricket will become extinct as countries refuse tours for unrelated risks".

Well, the risks may be unrelated but they are definitely there AND they are definitely significant .As much as I would love to see Australia tour Pakistan(especially when they are vulnerable)the fact of the matter is that Pakistan is presently an unsafe place to tour. Situation might change in the future but currently it does not look too good.

What we have to understand is that although Cricket is a way of life for Pakistani, Indian and Sri Lankan people it is not so for Australians .Here it is just a sport and no one will put their life or limb at risk for the sake of playing.

Additionally people from the subcontinent are sort of desensitised to this kind of violence and does not think much of it but Australians live in a very safe environment and they were understandably anxious.

((Posted by: S K at March 11, 2008 3:34 PM
Agreed. The Aussies are a bunch of spineless idiots. They boycotted the last tour as well. Pakistan should boycott any future Australian tours.)) SK+ Hey buddy spoken like a true pakistani i.e all heart and no brains used in a decsion. Unfortunately if Pakistan refuse to tour Australia, its obvious its not gonna make much differnce to Australia than it will make to Pakistan in terms of finacial view.As it is even now, Aussies dont really care on missing out , neither financially nor in terms of quality cricket. Only Pakistanis seem to be getting emotional or rather venting their frustration because its obvious they cant do much about it to change it. Neither can PCB wrest any finacial muscle unlike BCCI, nor threat of cancellation of Australian tour has much impact. It would be more better if, we spent our time and energy trying to convince our own people not to indulge in terrorism acts,so that Pakistan really becomes a safer place.

Johnny Dangerously at March 11, 2008 4:16 PM : You are absolutely right buddy. For an average Pakistani bomb blasts and death is so common that even if australian team was blown to bits by a bomb, they would probably request a second Aus X1 to be flown in. And if CA refused that most of the pakistani fans here would end up calling Australian chicken. Well they dont know the vlaue of life and family as it seems to have become really cheap in Pakistan ,a fact acknowledged by number of suicide bombers easily avlaible in Pakistan. I am really surprised how casually they take a bomb blast as if its normal daily way of life.

No offense to anyone but I will not visit Pakistan for one day, let alone for one month. I wish situation was not as bad but unfortunately it is. You can not blame Australia for backing out. I hope situation improves soon. Good luck to Pakistan

Reply to Gugu's post.

your post is totally stupid and nonsense. if pcb provides me a president level security i would love to go every inch of swat with my wide and kids. and i would enjoy every moment there because i know a president level security is arround me. in pakistan i have never seen an active president killed in any terrorist attack may be in other countries never in pk so i would be safe there.

Posted by: Gugu at March 11, 2008 3:05 PM

Hello Dr. Abbasi.
I am writing after a long time. Well, I have believed (like you and many others) in the past that teams must tour and security issues should not be a concern. But I have to depart my views here. Keep in front what has happened in Lahore today and then think as a common person visiting there with young wife and small children leaving behind. I want to ask you, 'would you like to take your family for a holiday trip to Sawat at the moment?' If your answer is 'yes' then I have to salute your bravery.

Kamaran is leaving his brain in a security vault these days before writing about cricket. How can you ensure that something that never happened can not happen, when the ground reality in Pakistan is something else. No ex PM of Pakiastan was killed in a terrorist attack before the Benazir incident, but that heppened. You would say these are non comparable and she had a much higher risk on her life. Agreed to that, but even a lower risk (say 5% for Aussie compared 50% for Benazir) can also result into a real incident. Why would Aus take the 5% chance on their lives? If the rerrorist don't target Aus cricketers directly they may target the stadiums and the situation can get out of hand.
Kudos to couple of matured Pak supporters like Omar Hussain (for being practical to security situation in Pak) and theossa (for talking about real issues Pak faces and asking sanity from Pak/Ind fans).

I am a regular reader of this blog.I disagree with your view that PCB is to be blamed for the postponement of the Australian tour to Pakistan . The prevailing political situation warranted Cricket Australia to take the decision.PCB would have negotiated with CA and would have provided all assurances.Personally I blame the ICC for being rudderless and not implementing certain statutes regarding cricketing tours between countries. They are more busy disciplining players on and off the field instead of looking at globalisation of the game.Even today only 8- 10 countries play cricket at the highest level.
ICC has been mum about the tour cancellation.Come on wake up ICC?

I think Australia has made the right decision not to tour Pakistan. These terrorist activities do not happen in their country and they are used to and proud of the prevailing peace in their country. Why should they tour Pakistan in such an uncertain 'life-and-death' situation? I am a Pakistani. I feel sorry for the way the Muslims in Pakistan in particular have made their own country so unsafe. As true Muslims - who should have been the torch-bearers of Truth, Peace and Security, they have allowed their country to succumb to internal conflict and turmoil. It is indeed a shame for even the Holy Quran says (to the effect): - "Do not cry for Peace, when you should be uppermost. God is with you and will not waste your efforts.". The Quran is right again when it says(to the effect) that "God will visit with punishment those who are not greatful.". This is what is happening. Unfortunate!

I continuance with above, I could suggest a couple of things. First, do not cancel the Australia-Pakistan game. Either, Pakistan could travel to Australia in this instance and hope for the security situation to improve in Pakistan until the time when Pakistan is supposed to tour Australia. At this time, Australia could tour Pakistan - i.e. their tours to each other's country could be reversed in time. The other option is to play in a neutral venue - or perhaps a place (such as the Middle East) where the crowd support is greater or perhaps more like in Pakistan. The rationale to play at all costs (even from a neutral vneue) is that the game will be beamed Live on TV, radio etc - a good reason for the local populace in Pakistan to be meaningfully engaged and happy. This is one front in which we fight internal violent disturbances in Pakistan. The other front is to be fought jointly by the Pakistan leadership in serious earnestness.

This should be a time of introspection for Pakistan Cricket. There are strong opinions on the tour and its cancellation. But these just detract from the basic problem….we are not a strong enough cricketing team anymore. It would have been interesting to see what Cricket Australia’s reaction had Pakistan been at least in the top 3 rankings.
Pakistan cricket has lost its away on a cumulative basis. This latest episode is not the fault of the current administration only. We are here because a succession of ex general, bureaucrats and other old farts have been running the PCB. For instance why does the FTP look so bare for Pakistan....this was decided years ago...thankfully for Nasim Ashraf it’s not his fault.
I think Pakistan Cricket needs to show some pride. We have a proud tradition of fearsome fast bowlers and fearless batsmen that made us a force against the best side (arguably) in recent times...the West Indies. The board needs to tell its players....go out to the ICL or IPL and show the world your skills. Show them that world cricket is poorer without Pakistan. They will come to us....but for that we need show pride and display skills that made us the force we were. Its no good wallowing on this situation. Pakistan Cricket needs strong characters and strong players. As for the tour to Australia next year…..well, the world is not a safe place anymore…..

Seriously, do you expect ANYBODY to even visit Pakistan right now, leave alone tour? I'm all for supporting Cricket all around the globe but currently, it would be asking for too much. Even an year ago I would have supported you but in the present situation I dont think anyone would come. That Zimbabwe did only shows how desperate they are. And Australia being an American ally, you dont need to be a political analyst to understand the threat.

To the gentleman who questioned as to why noone stopped touring India after assassinations in '84 and '91, it is simply because the threat at the time was only against the individuals, whereas here it is against ANYONE going against the Taliban, Lashkar and Co. Even Pak army officials are not being spared, I dont see how anyone would dare to take the risk.

Sir,

"Poor judgment" and "dubious ethics" are two terms that can describe the PCB very aptly.
The point is, regardless of how many bombs are going off no one in Pakistan wants to derail a prospective cricket tour. This has been mentioned by many commentators previously.
Also, I am somewhat astounded by the ostensibly considerable divergence of opinion on this blog as opposed to other cricket blogs/sites such as my own, where visitors have voted largely for Australia being unreasonable in sidelining this tour.

Veeramani,
You missed the contention altogether. Cricket is not "just a sport" in Pakistan, it is a way of life for the passionate public. It is a pulse that is arguably the only common ground that unifies and gels together the diverse cultures, ethnicities and religions in the country. The loss suffered by PCB and the general Pakistani public by virtue of the postponement of this tour, is too great to mention within the iniquitous ambit of 1000 characters, unfortunately.

Cancellation of the tour is a fact. What is the need in ascribing blame to one party or another? The focus of this forum should be on the consequences for Pak cricket and international test cricket as a whole. Pak is not a safe country, at war with itself and with 'terror'. I fear for Australia, because they have politicised cricket, associated it with terrorists. They have never been targets before, but have based their decision on the fear that they will be targets in the future.
The coincidence of the timing of the IPL, was unfortunate. More and more Pak players will head over to India in view of the fact that no one really wants to play Pak home series. Is that a bad thing? In the context of Pak cricket - yes but maybe, in view of pak's current difficulties, that may be the best thing to happen to Pak cricket, in what is its darkest hour.

A cry baby, arn't u mate? Ain't sure if u urself would wanna be in Pak rite now (if u r ther, that is) and u r cryin foul on the Aussies' decision. Who would wanna step on a mine in the name of a game? Develop some common sense and wake up to the realities of ur country. And stop whinging for Chris' sake!

The PCB is truly stupid, while I agree that a neutral venue would set the wrong example, they should have tried to at least get some good money out of it, but agreeing to a postponement but insisting on a 3 ODI Series in Abu Dhabi, where they got to keep all the TV and endorsement revenues. THis would not be in place of the abandoned series but in addition to it. You gotta milk sympathy when you can.

As far as touring Pakistan is concerned, when guys like Osman Samiuddin write what they do why should be blame the Aussies. After all he admitted in the open that Pakistani's dont feel safe in Pakistan so why should the Aussies.

Inspite of being an Indian I can understand the anger of Pakistani cricket fans in general. However the fact of the matter is that Pakistani is every now and then seeing outbreaks of violence and for some sitting in safe haven of Australia it is pretty much hard to come there to play a game of bat and ball. I would not blame either PCB or CA. I think this outcome is pretty much based on the exisiting situation in Pakistan which might be true or might be exaggerated by media but the fact of the matter is that Pakistani is now considered to be terrorist infested country in most parts of the world and unfortunately nothing much can be done about it. What Pakistani intelligence and army sowed in the 1980s and 1990s has boomeranged onto the common the public.

Karman Bhai, I usually agree with what you have to say but I think on this argument you make, I must disagree. May be it an exaggerated view that ex-pats and foreigners get when they hear about what is happening in Pakistan as far as security is concerned but even I have been shocked and saddened by the limit to which it has reached. Lahore used to be the safest city and people took pride in it. The indiscriminate killers of innocent people seems to not even care about the targets.
I know that Pakisan's cricket has suffered and will suffer even more because of this decision but you must put yourself in Australia'a boots and see what might happen if, say they had visited and if, due to some nut, a player had gotten hurt. I think that scenario would have resulted in deeper repercussions. Right now we can at least hope that the confidence of other teams to visit Pakistan will rise as the security situation gets better. Ultimately, I am much more concerned about Pakistan than Cricket!

We the Pakistanis should clean our own backyard before blaming others for not touring our country. I as a Pakistani was praying for the tour to get canceled under the present circumstances. I for one is not ready to face the utter humiliation of having a member of a visiting killed. We are in a state of war, with the enemy within our own borders. Lets make peace with or finish the enemy before inviting guests into our house.

I can understand why CA is touring. There is the security threat, IPL and over work for the players. With all that in sight and under the disguise of terrorism ... they can bow out.

That said the western leaning nations or the rich nations or the HAVEs of the world have found different ways of justifying their discriminatory actions.

Case in point is the Beijing Olympics ... more and more western/haves/rich states are creating new issues so that they do not visit Beijing. Some call it support for a poor Sudanese govt., some point to bad environmental surrounding in Beijing and some just don't like how the Chinese trade.

At the end of the day, it gets down to the fact that even in the area of sports ... the west wants to impose their superiority ... not by their ability perform better on the field, but by their negotiations and pointing this or that that is not perfect with other poorer nations.

No one blamed the environmental mess during the Los Angeles Olympics.

PCB may now invite USA army team to play cricket. Because except them no one in the world feel safe in Pakistan.

Why should Australia tour a war zone? Its almost the same as touring Iraq. I don't want to be rude, but your reasoning has no head or tail. The Aussies being key allies of America would have been high profile targets for the terrorists. Our security forces have shown complete vulnerability against their attacks. Think again please