KARACHI: A top official of the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Friday that the Pakistan authorities have to convince the international community if they aspire to see top-class cricket make a return to the country.
Dave Richardson, the ICC general manager for cricket, told a media gathering at the National Stadium that it was matter of convincing the members of cricket's global body before international cricket could resume here after Pakistan became a 'no-go' area following the terror attack on the Sri Lankan Test team in Lahore in March 2009 when gunmen killed six policemen and a van driver and wounding several players.
“What Pakistan need at this point in time is to convince the entire international [cricket] community if they hope to restore international cricket on their soil. Because there still exists concerns over security issues in Pakistan and no country wishes to risk playing here,” Richardson, a former South African Test wicket-keeper, said.
“I was in Lahore and left the place just before the attack on the Sri Lankan team which really damaged things. But I'm pretty hopeful that at some stage in the near future, this thinking will change and Pakistan will host international teams once again.”
Richardson, who left for Dubai later on Friday night after watching the first two days of the ongoing Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Cricket Championship Division One final, noted that the onus on the Pakistan Cricket Board PCB) to initiate a drive to keep contacts with the players' associations around the world.“Yeah, I think the PCB would benefit from talking to people such Tim May, the head the Federation of International Cricket Association, and the New Zealand players association. The communication at this level can be very helpful,” he noted.
Richardson, a qualified lawyer, praised the role of Pakistan in introducing a number of ideas for the betterment of the game.
“The staging of this [trophy final] match is an addition to what Pakistan board has been doing in the past. They wee the ones to come up with the idea of neutral umpires. The use of technology also came from Pakistan who proposed for it. There is no doubt in my mind that Pakistan is very much part of the international cricket and will remain so.
The ICC official said the main purpose of visiting Pakistan was it to assist them through this period of isolation.
“Being a member of the Pakistan Task Team [formed by the ICC], the reason for my visit is to try and assist Pakistan cricket in whatever way when they are unable to play their matches here.
“I know what's like being isolated. My country [South Africa] was isolated for some 20 years. During that period one of the key things that we emphasized was to ensure a high standard of domestic cricket. That helped us immensely because when we returned our standard was as good as any other top side in world cricket,” Richardson remarked.
“Therefore, it's imperative that Pakistan should maintain a very high standard of their domestic cricket.”
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