14 March 2004	Sunday	22 Muharram 1425

KARACHI, March 13: The International Cricket Council (ICC) chief on Saturday described the slick conduct of the first One-day International here as the first step towards a long journey.

Ehsan Mani, the president of the ICC, told a press conference at the National Stadium that the resumption of ties between Pakistan and India was not only beneficial for the two countries and Asia, but also for the global cricketing community.

"It is noteworthy that both Pakistan and India are playing once again bilaterally, because cricket was poorer without these great countries in direct competition with each other," he observed.

The Rawalpindi-born Mr Mani - who was accompanied by the Indian cricket board chief Jagmohan Dalmiya and Shaharyar M. Khan, chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board - noted: "I hope the ties last forever, since they benefit not only Pakistan and India, but the entire region of Asia nd the rest of the cricket world."

The ICC president remarked the revival of Pakistan-India cricket matches will make the ICC stronger. "Asia represents 40 percent of the ICC membership and a strong Asia means a strong ICC. I have no qualms about that."

Mr Dalmiya, the president Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said all the pre-tour stress on security was meant to ensure that the tour actually went on. "It was never intended to create hurdles in the way of the tour. It was to facilitate its materialisation."

He was quite enthusiastic about the smooth conduct of the One-day match in Karachi, and called the crowd "one of the most orderly I have ever seen anywhere in the world."

He was hopeful that the next time India visited Pakistan, he would prefer to start off from Karachi again, but "this time with a full-fledged Test match."

Mr Dalmiya said all future bilateral or multilateral invitations to play cricket against Pakistan will still have to be referred to the Indian government, which is a technical requirement.

"Hopefully, now that our government has agreed to playing against Pakistan after so many years, they must have thought that the right stage had arrived, and this decision will now have a long-term impact," he pledged.

Before the series, Mr Dalmiya continued, it was considered to either give the title of Friendship Cup to the series, or name it jointly after Imran Khan and Kapil Dev to honour the two greats of the game, but then it was thought advisable to first stabilise cricketing activity between the two nations before adding any extra pressure to it.

Mr Dalmiya, who specially flew with Mani from New Zealand after attending the ICC's Executive Board meeting to attend Saturday's match, said there was more cricket in the offing for the two Asian rivals. "We are scheduled to feature in the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka in July. In addition, a proposal to revive the Asian Test Championship is also on the cards."

The Asian championship, held only twice (in 1999 and 2001), was terminated because of India's refusal to play against Pakistan.

The BCCI chief also ruled out the immediate possibilities of playing at neutral venues such as Sharjah. "There is no question of playing at offshore venue for the time being, but as far as bilateral ties are concerned we will be meeting in each other's country."