August 19, 2003	Tuesday	Jumadi-us-Sani 20, 1424

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KARACHI, Aug 18: With barely 36 hours left before the start of the first Test between Pakistan and Bangladesh at the National Stadium there were no trace of tickets on Monday.

Several cricket fans queried Dawn on Monday about the availability of tickets. Some of the fans complained that no publicity, a practice that usually begins well in advance, had been made by the organisers.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had awarded exclusive ticketing rights to one of the leading nationalised banks for the entire international home season.

Yet, at the time of our going to press, tickets were either yet to be printed or made available at the stadium’s booth and the designated branches of the bank.

There is also a distinct lack of activity and the usual buzz that one associates with international matches. There is no pre-game match fever. The obvious explanation of this feeling of emptiness is the glaring but enforced absence of the Karachi City Cricket Association (KCCA).

This is the first time an international match is being played with the KCCA hierarchy not in the frame in any capacity.

In sharp contrast, the current group of organisers, consisting of PCB and Sindh Cricket Association (SCA) officials, seem to be lacking a lot. One example is that the tickets booth at the stadium was still being given a fresh coat of paint late Monday evening.

Another instance of the organisers’ disinterest in the match itself came into view when Dawn highlighted the dilapidated conditions at several places of the stadium in its Sunday edition. As a result of which the PCB’s high command sprang into action with emergency repairs being carried round the clock.

PCB’s decision to play a charity match on Saturday night, involving showbiz stars, just four days before the Test can only be described ludicrous since those who supported the so-called noble project were unaware of the damage that they were doing to the playing surface.

The boundary was specifically reduced to 70 yards from the match pitch, leaving a sizable territory at the mercy of those sitting outside the boundary-edge. Time and again, the grass was trampled as people kept moving throughout the duration of the festival game.

The Bangladesh team had nets twice since Sunday evening and yet no local liaison officer had been appointed by PCB to cater to the needs of the tourists, who have just a Rawalpindi-based official to rely upon.