THIS is a big moment for Pakistan cricket. The Zimbabweans are here. There is an ex-executive of the Pakistan Cricket Board who is obliged to acknowledge all the congratulatory messages on Twitter for apparently having played a part in bringing international teams back to Pakistan.

Then the current PCB chief is showing his gratitude to visitors by welcoming them as they arrive for a practice session at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium to which the matches in this tour have been restricted.

However, once it is proved that this tour has been organised successfully, there will be more venues. All those who have made it possible, the 28-member Zimbabwean peace troupe more than anyone else, deserve credit. The PCB has done what it could. The baton has now been passed on to the security officials.

Know more :We are here to support Pakistan, says Zimbabwe Cricket tour head

The security arrangements for the tour that will end on May 31 are elaborate by the look of it. Under ordinary circumstances, the safety umbrella spread over the venue would have been frowned upon.

Security has indeed been one of the major issues that have over time scared the spectators away from cricket matches in the country. But this has to be — in fact, it has been — viewed differently.

The long drought in which Pakistan has not hosted any Test-playing country has created both craving and nerves. This has to be done at a gradual pace, and with the utmost care.

What the hosts are saying essentially is that the focus must be on smooth organisation, not on the shortcomings that are routinely critiqued by the media, and even more than on the actual game. Unavoidably, it will at times appear to be more about security than the game, which it actually is. Yet cricket it is which is to be hailed.

At the media conference held at the Gaddafi Stadium on Tuesday, a Zimbabwean official spoke about the cricketing brotherhood. He talked about cricket being a winner. Seldom has the sentiment been more meaningful.

Published in Dawn, May 20th, 2015

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