Australia's tour to Pakistan unlikely

[Sanz]

BCCI can not help Pakistan Cricket. One Nincompoop organization lead by Shylocks of Indian cricket can not help another organization that is run by nincompoops. They have driven their own legends away from their cricket. Wasim, who was very vocal in his playing days on Indian tour cancellation, has chosen to remain politically correct. Waqar has chosen to stay away.

Their current cricketers seem like self centered individuals and are just worried about themselves. How can one explain a senior player like Mohammad Yousuf worrying about his IPL/ICL contracts when his country's national team is in disarray. The guy is busy blaming PCB for missing out on IPL auctions. I really doubt it if he is aware of the Pak-Aus series. Anoth current legend of Pakistan Cricket, Shoaib Akhtar is busy taking acting lessons with Bollywood stars. No wonder the best team in the world is not motivated to play them and infact the only team that you could get to agree and tour Pakistan is Bangladesh.

@Fusion - I respectfully disagree with you. I interact with a lot of Pakistanis on a daily basis I dont really see any disappointment , it has become a joke for them.

 

[Fusion]

@Fusion - I respectfully disagree with you. I interact with a lot of Pakistanis on a daily basis I dont really see any disappointment , it has become a joke for them.

If that is the case for the majority of Pakistanis, then it would indeed be sad. It would be the death of Pakistan cricket if apathy has set in. At least when they're angry/disappointed, they still care enough for the cricket.

 

[haroon510]

i was going to ask why Bangladesh isn't playing test matches in Pak tour.. they are going to tour pak for only five onedays and a 20/20 match.. what is the point of playing too much useless ODI. they should have added two or three test matches also..

i have to say some Aus players don't have balls.. they are coward and *****cuts... i just read bret Lee and Mathew Hayden's comments about the postpond tour. look at andrew Symonds i mean.. over six feet tall but doesn't have the gut of a kid.. it is laughable the way they are showing their itimidation from Pak..it seems like they aren't man enough to be with thousonds of people who are already living there..
i mean my family just came from afghanistan and pak and they went for vocation to see the rest of the family..and i personally myself perfer to go back to afghanistan or pak than going to Aus right now in this situation.. this shows the cowardness of Aussie players..

 

[Burgey]

If that is the case for the majority of Pakistanis, then it would indeed be sad. It would be the death of Pakistan cricket if apathy has set in. At least when they're angry/disappointed, they still care enough for the cricket.

If it's the case that interest has dwindled, what might the reason(s) be? Is it the game, the players, the admin, or is it that the people have other things they are just more concerned about atm?
I'd be interested to know. Obviously, as someone not living there, I don't really have a perspective on the situation, but it seems from a number of posts here that interest in the game there has dwindled. If that is the case (and I wouldn't know), why?

 

[Dasa]

Seems ridiculous that Bangladesh can go to Pakistan but Australia can't.

 

[sideshowtim]

i was going to ask why Bangladesh isn't playing test matches in Pak tour.. they are going to tour pak for only five onedays and a 20/20 match.. what is the point of playing too much useless ODI. they should have added two or three test matches also..

i have to say some Aus players don't have balls.. they are coward and *****cuts... i just read bret Lee and Mathew Hayden's comments about the postpond tour. look at andrew Symonds i mean.. over six feet tall but doesn't have the gut of a kid.. it is laughable the way they are showing their itimidation from Pak..it seems like they aren't man enough to be with thousonds of people who are already living there..
i mean my family just came from afghanistan and pak and they went for vocation to see the rest of the family..and i personally myself perfer to go back to afghanistan or pak than going to Aus right now in this situation.. this shows the cowardness of Aussie players..

Yeah, those gutless cowards. How dare they fear a country that has had an idiotic number of deaths from reckless, disgusting suicide bombings in the last couple of months. Only a coward would be scared of that.

 

[silentstriker]

Only a coward would be scared of that.

You're right - the first step is always acceptance. Since Bangladeshis aren't scared enough to not tour, and neither is any other Test team that has toured since the beginning of this century (the time that Australia hasn't gone).

 

[aussie]

You're right - the first step is always acceptance. Since Bangladeshis aren't scared enough to not tour, and neither is any other Test team that has toured since the beginning of this century (the time that Australia hasn't gone).

That's a bit harsh don't you think. Pakistan between 1st January 2000 up until the 9/11 attacks i don't recall any time in history teams having a problem in touring Pakistan.

Countries like Bangladesh, India & Sri Lanka even though there is a bit of tension in PAK ATM are culturally similar so we would be in a better position than other cricketening nations outside asia to reason with PAK a tour because since question marks over 9/11 had eased this is the most hostile PAK has seemed (according to the brain-washing media of course since then). So i do think its a matter of Australia being scared i don't honestly feel any non-asian country would have toured Pakistan right now.

When England toured in 05, Pakistan was considered safe again & you can't tell me that England woudn't be more scared to tour (given the perception that since the English are allies with the USA that the terrorist would want to attack the players).

I haven't been following this thread but i sense there is a bit of a gang bashing on Australia's position here, which is a bit unfair because the last time i team took a risk trusting the word of the PCB i.e NZ 2002 a bomb blast occured right near to a hotel & the tour was abandoned, if Australia went & something like that occured what would you say then?.

Don't get me wrong i'd love to see the tour go ahead it would be a real exciting challenge in this new era of Australian cricket & they probably would be safe as any government official in PAK but they are human & given this is the most unstable PAK has been since it was regarded as safe to tour since 9/11 you can't fault Australia for having doubts. But when things ease surely they can tour but probably Australia will not be as vulnerable to defeat as they are currently.

 

[silentstriker]

Countries like Bangladesh, India & Sri Lanka even though there is a bit of tension in PAK ATM are culturally similar so we would be in a better position than other cricketening nations outside asia

Um, the terrorists aren't particularly fond of Indians either, in case you've missed the last fifty years of war and conflict between the countries.

So i do think its a matter of Australia being scared i don't honestly feel any non-asian country would have toured Pakistan right now.

Australia hasn't toured for a decade, and every other country (non Asian too, as if that makes a difference) has.

I haven't been following this thread but i sense there is a bit of a gang bashing on Australia's position here, which is a bit unfair because the last time i team took a risk trusting the word of the PCB i.e NZ 2002 a bomb blast occured right near to a hotel & the tour was abandoned, if Australia went & something like that occured what would you say then?.

I would say they should do what they did when bomb blasts occurred in London.

 

[Fusion]

If it's the case that interest has dwindled, what might the reason(s) be? Is it the game, the players, the admin, or is it that the people have other things they are just more concerned about atm?
I'd be interested to know. Obviously, as someone not living there, I don't really have a perspective on the situation, but it seems from a number of posts here that interest in the game there has dwindled. If that is the case (and I wouldn't know), why?

Well first off, I haven't seen the level of apathy amongst Pakistanis that Sanz has. Assuming Sanz's observation is correct (which very well maybe because I'm limited to my little circle of friends and family), the answer to "why" can be complex. I would venture a guess that primarily it's because Pakistan haven't been playing good cricket for a while now. The World Cup debacle, followed by a continued string of losses may have turned people off. It's also possible that there is no longer an "iconic" player (or two) in the Pakistani side. People have always been able to follow the heroics of a Hanif Mohammad, Zaheer Abbas, Sarfaraz Nawaz, Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram, Waqar Yunis etc with pride, even if the team was losing. The closest that a player from the current side comes to matching the heroics of the aforementioned is Yousaf, and that was a year ago. Also Yousaf has never been considered a "superstar" in the molds of the players I mentioned. So bad play plus no defining player may equal fan apathy. Those would be my guesses. Like I said though, I haven't observed the same attitudes as Sanz. For the sake of Pakistan cricket, I hope my perception is correct rather than his.

 

[Richard]

The World Cup debacle

TBH, it's really the consecutive World Cup debacles isn't it? Pakistan were awful in WC2003 as well as WC2007, even if the latter was more absurd.

That can't exactly have helped. England, of course, have endured 4 in a row now, but World Cups have always, I'd guess, meant less in England than Pakistan.

 

[Fusion]

TBH, it's really the consecutive World Cup debacles isn't it? Pakistan were awful in WC2003 as well as WC2007, even if the latter was more absurd.

That can't exactly have helped. England, of course, have endured 4 in a row now, but World Cups have always, I'd guess, meant less in England than Pakistan.

That's true. But at least there had been some good success under Woolmer (being ranked as high as 2nd) prior to everything falling apart post Ovalgate.

 

[Richard]

Oh, certainly there was. But a bad World Cup seems that much worse if it's followed another bad one, regardless of what came in between.

And Pakistan cricket is hardly a stranger to scandals. What worries me, though, is that even Pakistan can surely not have been subject to so many shellshocks as occurred in the August-September-October 2006 period. It's almost as if you suppress chaos in Pakistan cricket (which Bob Woolmer and those in power with him did for a fair time) at your peril. The more solemnity, the worse the next scandal(s) must be. Surely even Pakistan cannot go on like that forever?

 

[Sanz]

Yeah, those gutless cowards. How dare they fear a country that has had an idiotic number of deaths from reckless, disgusting suicide bombings in the last couple of months. Only a coward would be scared of that.

Yet they are not afraid to send their 16-18 year children to Pakistan to play cricket and all other remaining are sent to Afghanistan to fight Taliban, but when it comes to sending their national team they suddenly realize the terrorist threat in the region.

Needless to say, an Aussie is the coach of Pakistan team, Aussie high commissioner is still posted in Pakistan so are many Aussies and their families who are working the embassy/consulates.

 

[Sanz]

That's true. But at least there had been some good success under Woolmer (being ranked as high as 2nd) prior to everything falling apart post Ovalgate.

Not to forget Twenty/20 WC performance where they did very well till the last over.

 

[Burgey]

Yet they are not afraid to send their 16-18 year children to Pakistan to play cricket and all other remaining are sent to Afghanistan to fight Taliban, but when it comes to sending their national team they suddenly realize the terrorist threat in the region.

Needless to say, an Aussie is the coach of Pakistan team, Aussie high commissioner is still posted in Pakistan so are many Aussies and their families who are working the embassy/consulates.

You make some good points mate, but the fact there is stil an embassy there isn't realy that relevant - there's an Australian embassy in Baghdad too.

Someone posted earlier on the thread that the ICC moved the Women's WC qualifiers from Pakistan recently, so I don't think it's just Australia who are concerned.

I wish this tour went ahead, and even wrote somethign to that effect, but it is a very difficult situation which everyone finds themselves in. I'd be happier if CA now told its players that they cannot play in the IPL for the period when the tour should have been on, but I cannot see that happening either.

 

[silentstriker]

Someone posted earlier on the thread that the ICC moved the Women's WC qualifiers from Pakistan recently, so I don't think it's just Australia who are concerned.

But Bangladesh are touring - so obviously they are less concerned. As is every other team who has ever toured this decade (which happens to be everyone except Australia).


And I still don't know how they can go to India for IPL, and in October for the full tour, as there are the same types of warnings issued regarding Terrorism in India.

 

[Son Of Coco]

But Bangladesh are touring - so obviously they are less concerned. As is every other team who has ever toured this decade (which happens to be everyone except Australia).

And I still don't know how they can go to India for IPL, and in October for the full tour, as there are the same types of warnings issued regarding Terrorism in India.

Yeah like these guys:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/1534936.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/1974761.stm

and these guys:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/3125250.stm

The fact is, the situation there's not good. Whether or not it's any better than in India I don't know. I'm not sure why elite sportsmen are expected to tour regardless while I certainly wouldn't go there myself or want anyone I know wandering around while this sort of stuff is happening. There's a lot of crap spouted about 'guaranteeing safety' and 'boosting security' but I'm very doubtful as to whether you can guarantee anything in that sort of climate.

 

[silentstriker]

New Zealand toured in 2002. They canceled their tour in 2001, as it says in your own article because 'because of the terrorist attacks in the USA', not bombs in Pakistan.

South Africa toured in 1997, 2003, and 2007. They made up the tour and have toured three times in ten years. Australia is the only country that hasn't in ten years.

 

[Son Of Coco]

New Zealand toured in 2002. They canceled their tour in 2001, as it says in your own article because 'because of the terrorist attacks in the USA', not bombs in Pakistan.

South Africa toured in 1997, 2003, and 2007. Again, Australia is the only country that hasn't in ten years.

Did they then pull out of a tour because a bomb exploded? They weren't touring the USA though were they? They were obviously worried that what happened there would cause tension in the region they were visiting. I'm happy for Oz not to have toured if they think there're problems, which there obviously are. It comes down to money really, possibly Bangladesh weren't in a position to refuse to tour due to needing international exposure and a corresponding tour to boost coffers. It's not like bombs have never gone off in Pakistan...as one of those articles points out, on one occasion it was very close to the teams themselves. Teams have either postponed, called off, or cancelled tours before. If SA want to tour, then good on them. The situation in Pakistan isn't great and safety cannot be guaranteed. If the end result is Pakistan don't tour here that's fine too.