November 27, 2007	Tuesday	Ziqa’ad 16, 1428

SYDNEY, Nov 26: Any security risk to the players will likely lead to the cancellation of Australia’s cricket tour of Pakistan early next year, players’ association president Darren Lehmann said on Monday.

Lehmann said the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) and Cricket Australia (CA) are mindful about sending their players to the nation, which is in the midst of political turmoil.

A weekend suicide bombing in Rawalpindi – a possible Test venue – has increased concerns about the tour going ahead next March.

CA shifted the 2002 tour of Pakistan to neutral venues in the wake of fighting in nearby Afghanistan, but the current political instability in Pakistan is a worrying development for Australian cricket.

“The best thing about the ACA and CA is we’re very close, with security to our players being paramount,” newly-retired cricketer Lehmann said. “So if there’s any risk at all, then I’m presuming the tour might not go ahead. But if security say it’s fine, then we’ll be going.”

Lehmann said he doubted if any players would decline to go if the governing bodies sign off on the tour, as leg-spinner Stuart MacGill did when he opted out of going to Zimbabwe in 2004.

“I think Zimbabwe was a different scenario,” Lehmann said. “We put everything on the table and then it’s a group decision from there, and pretty much they’re happy to go with the ACA and CA, what we recommend. So if we say we think it’s safe to go, they’ll go.”—AFP