July 27, 2008	Sunday	Rajab 23, 1429

KARACHI, July 26: Hours after reconfirming Pakistan as the country to host the Champions Trophy, the International Cricket Council (ICC) now braces itself for a mass boycott of players from the sport’s second most prestigious tournament.

Indications from Australia, England, New Zealand and South Africa are very disturbing since the players’ bodies of these countries are unwilling to budge from their stance, fearing for the cricketers’ safety if the tournament goes ahead in Pakistan this September.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) now surely must ask the game’s world governing body to resolve the thorny issue once and for all because the decision to boycott the tournament by the above-mentioned teams would lead to yet another crisis in the world cricket, and probably a major split between the reluctant teams and the Asian bloc.

During Thursday’s teleconference which decided to keep the tournament in Pakistan, the ICC faced fierce opposition from various quarters before announcing its verdict — a decision that was welcomed in Pakistan and India, who arguably owns the most powerful administration in international cricket with a major chunk of Indian sponsorship.

But the most pertinent question that needs an acceptable answer for all stakeholders is how the ICC will solve this problem. Because, as usual, the ICC has already pointed out that it was powerless to convince the member countries to respect its decision and therefore, play in Pakistan.

Even the ICC’s decision to constitute a high-profile taskforce to oversee the security arrangements has failed to persuade the likes of the Australian Cricketers Association (ACA), England’s Professional Cricketers Association (PCA), South African Cricketers Association (SACA) and the New Zealand Cricket Players Association from creating an uneasy environment.

It seems that all of these associations have pre-emptively decided to ensure the players they represent stay away from touring Pakistan without realising the negative impact of their collective action.

Moreover, according to reports in the Australian media, the West Indies’ Players Association have reportedly voiced their opposition to the tournament being staged in Pakistan.

From a cricketing point of view, the ICC cannot afford to organise a tournament minus defending champions Australia and the rest. And even if the ICC somehow succeeds in convincing these countries not to boycott the contest, some of the leading stars such as Andrew Symonds and Kevin Pietersen are almost certain to stay home.

“We cannot force players to attend. All we can do is to take them into confidence about the measures taken with regard to safety and security and on that basis hope they participate,” the ICC’s Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said on Friday.

It is very much unlikely that the boards of Australia and the rest are going to overrule their respective players’ associations. A crucial point was strongly made by James Sutherland, the Chief Executive of Cricket Australia.

“The relevance of players wanting to go to Pakistan or otherwise only comes into play if we decide we are actually going given the safety and security environment in Pakistan.

It may never be an issue but if it is we’ll have to work through that at the time. I don’t particularly look forward to that [kind of] situation but it be inevitable,” Sutherland says.

Heath Mills, the chief of the New Zealand Players Cricket Association, almost echoed similar lines, saying: “There’s been a strong view that we don’t think Pakistan is a safe work place for the players and our position hasn’t changed. It is our strong recommendation to the players that they don’t travel to Pakistan at this point in time.”