I am cricket, I am the loser
The answer is not to play in third countries. This approach would send the wrong message to these damned terrorists, and suggest to the world that we feel that a solution is beyond us
By Malik Arshed Gilani p.s.n.
It is a desperately worrying time for Pakistan cricket. Both Pakistan and cricket are the losers! I salute the brave Sri Lanka team for daring to come to Pakistan and say to them that there will not be a single true Pakistani that does not feel deeply for the injured players. I am sure all cricket lovers from our country join me in expressing shock and sorrow at the trauma that the Sri Lankan team and their loved ones must have gone through due to this despicable and cowardly act of terrorism.

Kallis becomes South Africa's most prolific Test batsman eve
He has the ability to construct an innings ball-by-ball, playing each delivery on its merit, no matter what is happening to the rest of the batsmen in the team
By Khurram Mahmood
Hosts South Africa lost the first Test against Australia at Johannesburg last week but the Test became a memorable one for its great all-rounder Jacques Kallis who has become the eighth batsman in Test cricket to score 10,000 runs. Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar was the first batsman ever to achieve the five-figure mark while Australia skipper Ricky Ponting was the last bastman in the 10,000 Test runs club before Kallis joined the exclusive club.

It was absolutely unprecedented; a sports team toured Pakistan, defying all advice and threats of terror and encountered a treatment which can be rightly declared the worst example of terrorism. The Sri Lankans had agreed to play with Pakistan as a guest team at a time when India refused to come to Pakistan in response to the Mumbai terror attacks in November. It was an honour to Pakistan and a show of solidarity the Sri Lankans demonstrated in a very tough time when the security concerns had rendered Pakistan almost aloof in the cricket world; no team was willing to visit the country under the shadows of terror.

Terrorism has crept into sports and seems to be omnipresent in this period of time; it is fast covering all major walks of life. From the Athens Olympics in 2004, when security had for the first time become a major concern, to the Beijing Olympics, authorities behaved cautiously, suspecting that terror might hit the mega event.

Pakistan has already suffered threats of terrorism which affected directly the cricket tourists. Earlier in September 2001, the New Zealand team returned even before reaching Pakistan after the 9/11 attacks on the United States.

In May 2002, a suspected suicide bomber killed 14 people outside the Karachi hotel where the New Zealand team was staying, prompting the tourists to fly away and abandon the series. This cancellation of the tour was the third major cricket event called off in Pakistan in the past year, after Australia refused to tour in March and the ICC postponed the elite eight-nation Champions Trophy set for August until 2009.

In September 2003, a bomb blast in Karachi forced South Africa to postpone a tour of Pakistan. Two years later in October, England refused to play a Test in Karachi over security fears and, in 2007, a Karachi Test had to be shifted to Multan after South Africa refused to play there after an assassination attempt on Benazir Bhutto. In March 2008, Australia bluntly refused to tour Pakistan but agreed to play with Pakistan in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

But those were threats of attacks only, not the attacks themselves, and this is what happened this time. The March 2009 attack has no parallel in history of the country when 12 gunmen attacked Sri Lanka's touring team with guns and grenades on a busy road outside the Gaddafi Stadium, killing two civilians and six policemen, and wounding seven Sri Lankan players and their assistant coach, a Pakistani umpire and 10 policemen.

The condemnations this incident invited are also unprecedented. While the world of cricket was stunned and shocked, the governments and statesmen were also dumb over its horror. South Africa captain Graeme Smith said the attack brought home to him the real meaning of tragedy. "The word tragedy is often used to describe a setback on the sporting field, but this is a real tragedy for cricket and for all decent people."

WICB President Julian Hunte said, "The people of Pakistan will now be denied international cricket. The attacks prove that the ICC was wise not to schedule the 2009 Champions Trophy there," Hunte added.

Pakistan's legendary cricketer Imran Khan blamed lax security and apologised to the Sri Lankan team for touring Pakistan despite huge pressure. "I strongly condemn the security provided to the Sri Lankan team because it was ten times less than what is given to Interior Advisor Rehman Malik," Imran said.

The words of former England cricketer Dominic Cork, who was in Lahore as a television commentator, that no more international cricket should be played in Pakistan are an insult to the country which its rulers deserve. He also vowed never to return to the country himself.

Cork added that former England opener Chris Broad was unhurt but severely shaken after being caught up in the attack. "He (Broad) said it was the most frightening experience of his life," said Cork.

The players' union chief executive Paul Marsh said the savage attack would have massive ramifications for Pakistan cricket. "It is one of those things, you know the risk is pretty large in that part of the world in Pakistan, but there has always been a belief that sports people will not be targeted and I am just stunned," Marsh said.

While President Asif Zardari's condemnation was the weakest response and his Sri Lankan counterpart's declaring it a cowardly attack was a consolation, US President Barack Obama's deep concern over the violence and India's pointing political scores on the tragedy show how widely it stunned the world.

The ICC reaction, justified by all means, is also unprecedented when the International Cricket Council cast doubt on Pakistan's hopes of remaining a co-host of the 2011 World Cup, saying the attacks had changed the global landscape of the game.

The tragedy has rocked Pakistan and prompted a security review for the 2011 World Cup, which is due to be jointly hosted by India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. "We will have to think carefully about the extent Pakistan will be used for the event," the ICC President David Morgan said in London.

ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said the sport's ruling body would not make a "knee-jerk" response to the attacks, but warned that it will be difficult to persuade cricketers to play in Pakistan.

Before this, the ICC and administrators in the four host countries were banking on the fact the World Cup was still two years away. Of the 15 World Cup venues that had been identified, eight are in India, four in Pakistan, two in Sri Lanka and one in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh is to host the opening ceremony on February 19, 2011 while the final will be played in India and the two semifinals shared by Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Australia and New Zealand are already on standby if South Asia is unable to organise the tournament.

The PCB response to the ICC objections is itself unprecedented. COO Saleem Altaf said no Sri Lankan player was seriously injured. "We took as much care as possible and the team safely reached the airport. No Sri Lanka player was critically injured and the fourth umpire, Ahsan Raza, was also out of danger after he was operated upon."

Raza, a local umpire, suffered wounds to his lungs. How absurd that Altaf took the credit of saving the players, without accepting any responsibility of the attacks. In other words, he was saying that the attacks were not the incident, instead the safety of the Sri Lanka team was the incident for which all credit goes to the PCB.

Horrifying is indeed a small word to describe the tragedy of March 3 when the visiting Sri Lanka cricket team came under attack. I as a Pakistani feel ashamed on the event and would like to extend my heartfelt apologies to the whole Sri Lankan nation. Before the event the Sri Lankan cricket team was being praised from all corners but the way they reacted to the situation made them heroes in the eyes of every Pakistani.

They did not blame, did not panic and we just salute them for the gesture. Here forgetting the policemen who laid their lives and the driver of the bus carrying the visiting team is unjust as because of their gallantry the Sri Lankan team escaped any casualty. Whatever happened should not have taken place but the implications of the event would be far-reaching.

Teams like England, Australia, South Africa, India and others who were already reluctant to tour Pakistan will put this event as a bad example to portray Pakistan as an "epicentre" of terrorism. Not only Pakistan, but I feel the attack would change the way the cricketing world will view security before a foreign trip as this was the first time a cricket team came under attack, and countries like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and even India would not be spared as insurgencies have been going on in these countries too. The big question at the moment is that what should the Pakistan Cricket Board do to keep things rolling.

For at least a year or two Pakistan would not be in a position to convince a competent team to tour Pakistan therefore it should focus on the two available options. One is to organise foreign tours and secondly play at neutral venues like the UAE. By doing so no doubt the home advantage would be lost but at least the players would get some cricket.

What can also be done is to arrange tours of the neutral venue after three to four months to get acclimatised to the conditions, yes it would be an added burden on the PCB, but what else can be done.

Cricket has been badly jolted by the event, but as the ICC chief David Morgan said "the world is a dangerous place but cricket must go on" therefore we have to look ahead from here to put our house in order.

An issue-after-an-issue has been the story of Pakistan cricket affairs since Dr Nasim Ashraf resigned. During the recent Pakistan-Sri Lanka Test at Karachi, the matter raised by Younis Khan is worthwhile and yes the real man behind the preparation of the dead wicket should be brought to the fore. I will come to this issue later as first of all I would like to scrutinise the overall behaviour of the NSK wicket over the years.

The scorecards of the Test matches played at the venue between 2000 to 2009 show that of the total eight Test matches that have been played 9990 runs have been scored at an average of 1248 runs per match. Not to forget that the 400-run mark was crossed on eight occasions during the period.

The above figures clearly suggest that the wicket at the National Stadium has been placid and the tale in the February 21-25 match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka was not different where more than 1500 runs were scored.

Therefore a huge amount of work needs to be done to revise the nature of the surface which should have been done way before the match. Younis Khan was in favour of grass on the Karachi wicket but his wish went unattended and later his apprehension was understandable but again we chose a wrong time to raise an issue.

I want to raise a point here that only grass on the wicket could not do wonders if the soil underneath it is not tough enough, because if the soil is loose then the presence of grass on it would not be effective. Another thing that can be done is the preparation of ready made pitches like in New Zealand where pitches are mostly drop-in tracks which are prepared separately and then fixed in the field. Can't it be done here in Pakistan?

Human nature is like water. It adopts the shape of the circumstances in which it is reacting. You are going on a road and a bomb blast occurs in which people die but you are safe so for you that place is a safe place. A terrorist attack takes place but you are not touched. For you that is a safe place. In short, it is only when you are touched, when you are involved, that we start feeling the gravity of the situation.

Pakistan cricket was under the threat of terrorist attacks for a long time and that threat which we all thought would never has become a reality, did become a reality at 8.47 am on March 3 when our guest team, Sri Lanka, while going to the Stadium, to start the third day of the second and last Test match against Pakistan, were attacked by terrorists with Kalashnikovs, rocket launchers and hand grenades.

I do not know whether I should call ourselves lucky or unlucky, because, although our guest team was saved due to the bravery of some police officials and the driver of the bus carrying the Sri Lankan team, yet Pakistan cricket and our national pride and reputation died in this attack. On this day cricket of Pakistan remained no more a game but became a part of the politics par force.

Terrorism is not new to the World. It was used always for political purposes and one finds its traces way back around the time of Christ when a Jewish group, the Zealots-Sicarii, remained active for twenty five years to achieve their political goals leaving a profound effect on Jewish history.

The second most significant group was the Assassins, who, whenever the need arose, were used by the political powers to kill or maim their opponents. The rest of the terrorism movements were more or less based on these two fundamental models. The terrorist attacks are aimed at achieving political ends by intimidating the non-combatants by any means and they do it without any emotion or sensitivity.

The idea to give a background of terrorism is just to show that in spite of the ever existing terrorism, life always continued to progress and prosper because there were always some determined elements to combat it, to fight selflessly in order to restore peace and bring back tranquillity to the lives of people of no consequence, people for whom the game of power is an elusive game and that's why they want cricket to flourish and prosper in the country because they can associate themselves with this game because it is a concrete reality and hence achievable; they can associate themselves with its players and make them their real heroes because they know that these players play with the truthful sound of the bat and pureness of the speed of the ball.

Today, we, the people of no consequence, must get together, rise and salute them who are fighting the war against terrorism, outside and inside equally, who are laying their lives so that we can live peacefully and who do not hesitate to take away the smiles from the faces of their families so that we can smile.

In the end, I, very humbly, would like to address our august Committee on Sports of the Senate that cricket standards are not deteriorating because PCB is not doing its job correctly, but it is deteriorating because some others are not doing what they are supposed to do, which is effecting not only cricket but the nation on the whole. So please turn around and ask them to explain.

I am sure that cricket will return to Pakistan. When? Well, anybody's guess!

The writer is a former Pakistan Test cricketer who, as a left-arm spinner, captured 59 wickets in 19 matches from 1964 to 1973. His elder brother Waqar Hasan was a middle-order batsman in Pakistan's pioneering team, having played in 21 Tests from 1952 to 1959

The deadly Lahore incident left has Pakistan and its cricket at an incurable stage and now it seems that it will take decades to restore Pakistan's image as a reasonable and peaceful sporting venue.

It was the third time, that a visiting cricket team left its Pakistan tour incomplete due to different reasons. The Indian cricket team returned immediately after hearing the news of the assassination of Indian Prime Mininter Indira Gandhi in 1984. Then in 2002, the New Zealand cricketers had to rush back to their country following a bloody bomb blast just outside their hotel in Karachi ahead of the second Test match.

Though the shameless attack by the terrorists last Tuesday left six members of the Sri Lankan team wounded and eight others including six security officials dead, there were two factors which proved fortunate for the visiting team.

According to eye witnesses, around a dozen masked gunmen, sprayed bullets on the bus from all sides but fortunately all the tyres of the vehicle remained undamaged. And resultantly, the quick-witted driver managed to take the guest team towards Gaddafi Stadium within no time. Had the tyres been burst, the touring team could have suffered irreparable loss. In this way, luck favoured the Sri Lankan team in a way on that luckless day of cricket history.

The Sri Lankan cricketers had another favourable happening at the Liberty Roundabout. The offenders, apart from continuous shooting, also fired a rocket launcher on the team bus but luckily the rocket missed the target and the bus remained intact. Had the rocket hit the target, the bus could have exploded into pieces.

The attack on the Sri Lanka team at Lahore is not the first time an international cricket side has found itself caught up in a terror incident. There are several incidents of different natures which affected world cricket.

Here is a chronology of cricket-damaging incidents in different parts of world:

April 1987 -- The New Zealand cricket team cut short a three-Test tour of Sri Lanka after a car bomb killed 100 people at a bus station in Colombo.

November 1992 -- Several New Zealand players and their coach returned home after a bomb attack in Colombo killed four people outside the hotel where the players were having their breakfast.

February 1996 -- Australian and the West Indian cricket teams refused to play World Cup group matches in Sri Lanka a week after a bomb in Colombo killed 80 people and injured over 1,000.

July 2001 -- New Zealand played a scheduled match in Sri Lanka the day after an attack by the Tamil Tigers killed at least 14 people and closed Colombo's international airport.

September 2001 -- The New Zealand team en route to Pakistan, returned from Singapore after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.

May 2002 -- A suspected suicide bomber killed 14 people including 11 French naval staff, outside the Karachi hotel where the New Zealand cricket team was staying on the day the second Test of their series with Pakistan was due to start. New Zealand flew home immediately after the attack.

June 2002 -- Former South African skipper Hansie Cronje was killed in a plane crash in South Africa.

October 2002 -- Pakistan played a home series against Australia in Sri Lanka and United Arab Emirates after the Aussies' refusal to tour over security concerns.

September 2003 -- A bomb blast in Karachi forced South Africa to postpone a tour of Pakistan. They agreed to tour a week later but refused to play in Karachi, Pakistan's biggest city.

October 2005 -- England refused to play a Test in Karachi over security fears but played a one-dayer in the city.

August 2006 -- South Africa pulled out of a tour of Sri Lanka after a bomb attack against Bashir Wali Mohmand, the Pakistan High Commissioner in Sri Lanka, in Colombo. Mohmand was injured and four of his guards were killed.

March 2007 -- Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer died mysteriously in Kingston following Pakistan's humiliating defeat against minnows Ireland in World Cup 2007.

October 2007 -- South Africa refused to play a one-day game in Karachi following an assassination attempt on former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. The match was then shifted to Multan.

March 2008 -- Australia refused to tour Pakistan after bombings in Lahore that killed at least 15 people. Later, the tour was rescheduled to take place at Abu Dhabi and Dubai in April-May 2009.

July 2008 -- Australia and New Zealand players were advised not to travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy. New Zealand also cancelled a one-day series in Pakistan.

August 2008 -- The ICC Champions Trophy due to take place in September 2008 in Pakistan was postponed after world champions Australia led a boycott call later supported by England, South Africa and New Zealand. The tournament will now take place this October at a venue yet to be decided.

September 2008 -- Bombs killed 20 people and injured over 90 in New Delhi a week before the Australian team were due to arrive.

September 2008 -- Pakistan cricket authorities accused their Australian counterparts of double standards following their confirmation of a Test tour to India in spite of a series of bomb blasts in New Delhi.

November 2008 -- Gunmen killed around 190 people in Mumbai. The incident led England to cut short the ODI leg of their tour of India but they eventually returned for the Test series. As a result of Mumbai attacks, Pakistan suffered the most and several of its sporting events were cancelled or postponed.

December 2008 -- India cancelled their Pakistan tour due to tension between the two nuclear-armed neighbours over the militant attacks in Mumbai.

December 2008 -- Sri Lanka showed interest to tour Pakistan in spite of all security warnings.

January 2009 -- Sri Lanka confirmed they will play three one-dayers and two Tests in Pakistan. Skipper Mahela Jayawardene asks players to concentrate on the series and not worry about security.

January 2009 -- The Sri Lankan cricket team in the first part, visited Pakistan for three ODIs.

January 2009 -- PCB says it would offer Australia a choice of neutral venues if security fears force it to call off the tour scheduled in April.

February 2009 -- The International Cricket Council decided to move the Champions Trophy event out of Pakistan after many members expressed reservations about touring the country.

March 2009 -- The Sri Lankan team was attacked by gunmen, forcing the suspension of the second Test match after two days of play at Lahore.

March 2009 -- The gory attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore left Pakistan with bleak chances to host the elite World Cup matches in 2011.

The writer is a staffer at 'The News; in Lahore

The turmoil in Pakistan presents somewhat of a philosophical dilemma: Who should and why should cricket be played in the country where there seems no value for life. Agreed. And why was it played in India when the entire Mumbai was held hostage by a handful of armed men. England were prompt to resume their tour to India because it being the huge financial market -- a paradox? Nonetheless, the March 3 incident at Lahore effectively eliminates all the paradoxes and leaves Pakistan's top tier exposed to ineffectiveness.

Paradoxically, it is allowing terrorists to run and rule and the tumult over such attacks like the one against Sri Lanka's team, unsympathetic to Pakistan and shoving it to isolation. And this one act of terrorism leaves the environment, political governments and cricket or all sports enigmatic, unwelcoming and spiralled in disbelief. It is reprehensible that Sri Lanka having a ball at Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium were jammed in a situation where the bullets and missiles started flying.

The tumult over the incident overshadows a far more serious issue. As discovered by Ansar Abbasi, 'The News' prized journalist there was an intelligence report revealing that RAW (Research & Analysis Wing) of India premeditated to target the Sri Lanka team. In reports as he recounted on the GEO television channel, the details of an expected assault were mentioned, even the suspected site was given. The document was received on January 22, 2009.

The Punjab Government had made special arrangements, having delegated powers to the people responsible for Sri Lanka's security. Irreverently, the Punjab Government was dismissed and Governor's Rule was imposed that saw so many top police functionaries removed or replaced. And unquestionably, as we must stand up to reality, there was naked callousness, even if we have to believe Mr Asfandyar Wali saying on television that he wouldn't really call it a security lapse.

While Lieutenant General Hamid Nawaz (retd) ex-Secretary Defence contrary to Asfandyar's view registered that the security arrangements weren't up to the mark. How could such a high profile tour was allowed to have been ruined in this way? When the President of the Republic moves, the surrounding areas are cordoned, sniffer-dogs trek the location, the entire route is filled with security (well-equipped) men, the roads are blocked well in advance for general traffic, some going through the irony of waiting up to 30 minutes and while General Pervez Musharraf was in power, people had bed and breakfast in their cars and the noodle points have barriers and check posts. At Lahore, Sri Lanka travelled from the same route for three successive days and glaringly the security provided was almost third-line.

The powerful should have known that Sri Lanka agreed to the tour most compassionately showing solidarity after India's refusal to come to Pakistan. Regrettably, India stands vindicated. We seem to hold other factors that we do not accept in our system. The privilege of high-profiled security and management has been denied in this country countless of times for reasons far less egregious than having connections to terrorism.

Incongruously, the PCB and the Government of Punjab had signed an MOU to provide security in accordance with the ICC requirements. The document was signed but was it really implemented? Nonchalance!

Cricket feels so small, so inconsequential, so utterly extraneous and unrelated now. I sit utterly appalled before the television, watching the world's most enduring city Lahore in the thrall of a petrifying deed. Watching Sri Lanka's bus targeted and numerous bullets sprayed all over the place feels like living through cricket's end, for Sri Lanka is not merely an international team, it is a symbol of the subcontinent's identity, an iconic link between its prosperous past and lively present.

I have observed a city of gaiety and life flattened in terrorism by twelve men who have eliminated from their souls every trace of compassion -- let's not bestow on them the grandeur of political or religious struggles -- and I feel the life drains out of me. I have felt a sense of frenzy and wrath. I am deadened, not with trepidation or fear, but something far deeper a sense of overwhelming hopelessness.

Lahore's tragedy has brought staid insinuations and implications for cricket, and be it the PCB, Government of Punjab, Ministry of Interior and Government of Pakistan, never has the top tier looked so hollow and ineffective. I am unfocused, conflicted and even watching television feels like a strenuous and a difficult task. The ICC has promptly intervened casting doubts about the World Cup 2011 matches being played in Pakistan.

Agreed -- sports are not bigger than life, not even in a country where it is said to be second to religion. I should perhaps be writing a piece assessing the impact of the terrorist attack on Pakistan cricket, and consequently on the game's global ecosystem. But I can't bring myself to. I feel compelled, instead to write this.

There have been numerous such attacks since 2005-06. But somehow I felt I understood what was happening then. I couldn't relate to it, but I understood the thirst for retaliation and revenge, the hatred and the frenzy that temporarily consumed ordinary people. I even wondered about a foreseeable future when I could ask some of the terrorists and talk about what drove them to such madness.

But somehow I felt I understood what was happening then. I couldn't relate to it, but I comprehended the thirst for retaliation and revenge, the hatred and the frenzy that temporarily consumed innocent people. I even conjectured about a predictable future but this is simply beyond my comprehension. My powers of compassion, my capacity to reach into another's heart, cannot break through the empty intents of those who would put to death innocents with such intangible, tranquil endorsement. Through the day, I haven't been able to cast aside the thought that to even talk about the bearing of Sri Lanka's abandonment of the Test, is a perversity in the face of such a huge human catastrophe.

It was brave of Sri Lanka's cricketers not to blame the public, government and the cricket authorities and it was right for them to go home in a chartered plane, pleasingly all alive and no coffins to carry. These cricketers are heroes of a different kind. Putting their lives at risk is not in their line of duty. However, the images from Lahore -- the drawn-out drama, the cold-blooded boldness and sinning of it -- are far more distressing and ghoulish than those of a suicide bomber blowing himself off in a war-zone, in places like Waziristan or Swat, though it is still intolerable.

This is not time for brinksmanship, power games or criticism. This is a time for gentle and deferential insight. But life can't stand still. The city, the country, the world, must renew itself. Cricket is only a small part of it, but it will matter, it will make a difference.

India as did their captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, tries to project it is important to bear in mind that the term terrorism is commonly used as a term of abuse, not accurate description. It is close to a historical universal that our terrorism against them is right and just (whoever we happen to be), while their terrorism against us is an outrage.

As long as that practice is adopted, discussion of terrorism is not serious. It is no more than a form of propaganda and apologetics. Barely a few years into it, the 21st century already is clearly marked as the 'Age of Terrorism'. The 9/11 attacks marked a salient turning point in the history of the United States and indeed of global geopolitics, national and international policies have changed accordingly. Interestingly, in his post 9/11 speech President George W Bush used the terms terror, terrorism, and terrorist thirty-two times without ever defining what he meant.

In the amorphous name of 'terrorism', wars are being fought, geopolitical dynamics are shifting, the U.S. is aggressively reasserting its traditional imperialist role as it defies international law and world bodies, and the state sacrifices liberties to 'security'. One of the most used words in the current vocabulary, 'terrorism', also is one of the most abused terms, applied to actions from flying fully loaded passenger planes into buildings to rescuing pigs and chickens from factory farms.

Perceptibly international cricket is dead in Pakistan. Isolation or series on neutral values and tours abroad could give a lifeline to the PCB. Truth is, this is time to get drawn on the whiteboard and contemplate strategies for the future. The only consolation is that a major team like Pakistan couldn't be isolated from world cricket; it isn't really Zimbabwe. And if India is the heart of the subcontinent's game, then Pakistan is still its soul. Nevertheless, it would require a rebirth of all systems, political, governance and cricket's management. The skeletons are already on the roads.

The answer is not to play in third countries. This approach would send the wrong message to these damned terrorists, and suggest to the world that we feel that a solution is beyond us

By Malik Arshed Gilani p.s.n.

It is a desperately worrying time for Pakistan cricket. Both Pakistan and cricket are the losers! I salute the brave Sri Lanka team for daring to come to Pakistan and say to them that there will not be a single true Pakistani that does not feel deeply for the injured players. I am sure all cricket lovers from our country join me in expressing shock and sorrow at the trauma that the Sri Lankan team and their loved ones must have gone through due to this despicable and cowardly act of terrorism.

Let me hope with every shred of passion in my body that the great country of Sri Lanka will accept that Pakistan has only love and respect for them all. I would like to recall that in the 1996 World Cup final played at Lahore between Sri Lanka and Australia, the chairman of the Sri Lanka Board remarked to me that it was as if Sri Lanka was playing at 'home'.

May I reiterate to this great cricketing nation of the world that in spite of what has happened they should continue to hold the same view. Please, please do not judge us by this evil, heinous act. We obviously are in an undeclared state of war that is much multiplied by the sad fact that the enemy is unknown. This does go to highlight that in spite of every possible effort and care that must have been taken by all the agencies involved in the protection of our high value visitors that there is no such thing as absolute security.

This could happen anywhere and could apply equally to London, New York, Munich or Mumbai. Sadly that does not make this event any easier to bear for Pakistan. We all hope and require that if there has been any lapse on any one's part in Lahore, it is highlighted and those responsible brought to book.

The question must arise, where does Pakistan cricket go from here? Well let me say categorically that, in my view, the answer is not to play in third countries. This approach would send the wrong message to these damned terrorists, and suggest to the world that we feel that a solution is beyond us. We must not let this come about.

It is high time that all walks of society come together to rid our country of this plague that infects us. We must not be led astray by some false argument about religion and faith. We must identify what is the problem and be bold enough to advise the public in plain language as to who is responsible for this specific attack and how such a judgment has been reached.

There must be no half way measures and no one should be able to hide facts due to 'security'. Only full disclosure by the powers that be and an honest evaluation will encourage true Pakistanis to assist the government to fight this battle.

One can hope that the PCB will use this time to reflect on what ails our cricket, as really this past series does show that we are still not on the right path. Let us start with our pitches; plainly put, either our curator does not know his job or else the public directions he receives do not match his private instructions. This is easily borne out by the state of the pitches at Karachi and Lahore.

On both occasions the directions were to make a sporting pitch. After the fiasco in Karachi, the Chairman was reported as saying that he was satisfied that the curator was not to blame. Well who was? Is it not the right of the public to be told this? Following this match we were harangued by statements of one and all that the Lahore pitch was to be a very sporting one!

The coach was reported as saying that he was satisfied that it was a 'great pitch'. Well guess what? Wrong again. The judgment about the pitch also obviously misled our captain to elect to field first on a feather bed of a wicket and chase leather for over six hundred runs. Thus back to the question that was asked earlier; who is responsible? Who knows what is going on?

For heavens sake do we even have the technical expertise to prepare pitches? Let me hasten to add before we get led away by our so called expert commentator to have 'drop in pitches', that the PCB must know that with dedicated Test grounds that are not used for other activities such pitches are neither the need nor the answer.

We have yet to find a balance in our team selection. One of our leading left-arm fast bowlers Sohail Tanvir has been repeatedly omitted from the team and there has been no satisfactory reason provided. Is he being disciplined? Is he unfit or is it just a personal dislike that is depriving Pakistan of his services? We must know.

Our only leg-spinner is being used as a stock bowler. Watching the matches it was apparent that he was being required to bowl fast and also keep the runs down. This is not the task of such a bowler. All good leg-spinners have been attacking bowlers. It is in attack that their art allows them to pick up wickets. By definition therefore they at times are expensive. I felt sorry for Danish Kaneria he was being wasted just as our young inexperienced fast bowlers were being fed to the wolves on these wickets.

The wicket-keeper in the Pakistan team is a weak link. I feel for him because he has more than once saved our team from defeat and in fact has helped us win by his batting. Unfortunately his wicket keeping skill is lacking. The catches that he drops are too expensive for any team to afford. Finally surely we must have a left-arm spinner in the development stage. This is a bowler type that should be developed to give the team variety in the spin department.

Our domestic cricket continues to baffle me. The system is neither provincial nor departmental nor district defined. We have endless matches which are regularly reported ad nauseum. There is no attempt at any form of marketing to make some sense out of what is happening. May one again ask the old question: what was wrong with our old tried and tested system? May we please go back to it? It used to work!

It produced some of our greatest cricketers. Remember the people who meddled with the old ways all came a cropper. Time has proved that the previous three cricket organisations led by individuals whose main claim to fame was a 'love of the game' and the 'ear of the Patron' did not achieve any laurels. The reality is that things went from bad to worse.

What does amaze me is that we do not learn to leave well alone. The Oval Test is what comes to mind. The Pakistan captain broke the rules. The match was awarded rightly to England. Whether the ICC truly followed the systems that are in place before such an action is taken will not change the basic truths.

My amazement goes over the top when I read the make up of the august enquiry committee. The question that comes to mind is; do the higher teaching institutions of our defense forces also have instructions on the ICC rules?

I end by quoting the great author Ernest Hemingway who said something which we all in Pakistan should take heed: "Ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for me".

The writer is a freelance contributor

malikgilani2002@yahoo.com

Hosts South Africa lost the first Test against Australia at Johannesburg last week but the Test became a memorable one for its great all-rounder Jacques Kallis who has become the eighth batsman in Test cricket to score 10,000 runs. Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar was the first batsman ever to achieve the five-figure mark while Australia skipper Ricky Ponting was the last bastman in the 10,000 Test runs club before Kallis joined the exclusive club.

Before starting the Test, he needed just 12 runs to get to this landmark. He achieved this milestone in his 129th Test appearance. Kallis is the first South African batsman to achieve the target. Kallis has also scored over 10,000 runs in One-day Internationals.

Kallis is ranked as the number one all-rounder in the current ICC Test ranking. He is the first player who has scored over 10,000 runs, taken over 250 wickets and held 144 catches in Test cricket.

Jacques Henry Kallis is among the very few batsmen in world cricket who have an over 54 batting average. He is the only batsman after Sir Donald Bradman to have hit centuries in five consecutive Test matches and is the only player in the 10,000 club not to have scored a double century.

He is a man with an ability, mental strength and presence of mind to change the situation accordingly. Former Australian captain Steve Waugh once said that "we had tried simply everything against this guy, but we can't find a weakness in his game".

He has the ability to construct an innings ball-by-ball, playing each delivery on its merit, no matter what is happening to the rest of the batsmen in the team. He is a magnificent player with a solid technique and this, together with a cool temperament, makes him a top-class Test batsman.

Kallis made his Test debut against England at Durban on December 14, 1995, but in his first innings he made just one run. His next seven Test innings produced only 57 runs, leaving him with an average of 7.13. In his next Test a knock of 61 against Pakistan saw his average rise to 13.11.

The selectors continued taking risks as they picked Kallis for South Africa's tour of Australia, hardly the place to tour if you're looking to improve on your record.

Playing in front of a massive Melbourne Cricket Ground Boxing Day crowd, Kallis made 15 in the first innings of the first Test against the Australians, but in the second innings, with the Proteas set an improbable 381 for victory, Kallis showed a magnificent fight and mental toughness to occupy the crease for around six hours in making 101. That effort saved the Test for South Africa, and became the turning point in Kallis's career.

Since that day in December 1997, he has become the foundation of South Africa's batting, lifting his average continually and after the first Test against Australia last week he averaged 54.37.

He is now South Africa's all time leading Test run scorer with 10,060 to his name including 30 centuries and 50 fifties.

In November 1998 the West Indies team toured South Africa for a five-Test series; Jacques Kallis undoubtedly was the star of the series with 485 runs with an average of 69.28. In addition, in the presence of Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock, he claimed 17 wickets at a very low average of 17.58.

In the fourth Test at his home ground, Newlands, Kallis delivered one of the best all-round performances in Test history. In South Africa's first innings he made 110 and then followed that up with two for 34 as the Proteas took a first innings lead of 194. Batting a second time he finished unbeaten on 88 as South Africa declared on 226-7, leaving the West Indies requiring an improbable 421 for victory.

With Allan Donald having injured himself, Kallis, in spite of spending almost eleven-and-a-half hours at the crease while batting, was called on to open the bowling with Shaun Pollock. He responded magnificently, sending down 27.4 overs and taking 5-90 and was declared Man of the Match and Man of the Series without any contest.

Not only in Test cricet, Kallis is also a valuable player in One-day Internationals. He has scored 10,057 runs at a healthy average of 45.30 with the help of 16 hundreds and 71 half-centuries in 287 matches.

On the bowling side he has taken 246 wickets with an average of 31.72. He also held 104 catches in the shorter version of the game.

He is the only man in history to score overall 20,000 international runs, take over 500 wickets and hold 249 catches in both Tests and ODIs.

Kallis was declared the ICC Test Player of the Year in 2005.

The writer works in the art department at 'The News' in Karachi

khurrams87@yahoo.com