Australia had refused to tour Pakistan citing security fears, India made such a song and dance about the safety of its players that Karachi and Peshawar had to be dropped as Test venues and the cities where it played its matches all but went to a red alert and the grounds resembled armed fortresses.

Yet both teams agreed to play in Holland without batting an eyelid about security and not only is there no visible security but players have been moving about on the streets of Amsterdam. Terrorists, we are being told, do not respect national boundaries. There seems to be a lot of hypocrisy even in cricket.

Three of the best teams are involved in the Holland tournament. And yet no allowance was made for the fact that the tournament was being played at the fag end of the summer in Europe and weather was bound to be a huge factor.

The first match was reduced to 33 overs and the second had to be abandoned at the end of the Australia innings, the match was curtailed to 32 overs. The weather forecast for the remaining two matches is not promising. The ICC Trophy is also being played at the wrong time of the year and rain is bound to interfere and Duck worth & Lewis will be coming into play.

The good or the bad thing about Duck worth & Lewis is that nobody seems to know how it is calculated. Einstein would have had difficulty with it. It goes without saying that there is no great revenue loss for the main money is made from television rights and from advertising which means that the organizers can afford to be cavalier about scheduling tournaments.

Cricket being sold to the highest bidder and television companies are bring in elements of show business and which strips this noble game to its dignity. At a seminar in Kolkata 1987, I had made the point that if a cow was born in a stable, it did not become a horse. I cannot immediately think of something equally clever about the way one-day cricket is being projected on television but its heading towards becoming a sitcom.

Now to some serious cricket business. Pakistan played magnificently against India and this time it got the bonus point, which has guaranteed its place in the final. It was desperately unlucky in the Asia Cup. It is too early to make a judgement call on the coaching of Bob Woolmer but there appears to be little doubt that the players are listening to him.

But the key so far has been the fitness-trainer and I shudder when I recall the statements of officials and coaches who held to the view that fitness was the responsibility of the players themselves.

I have lost count of the number of columns I wrote urging the PCB to get a fitness-trainer. I even spoke to some PCB officials and would always be assured that a fitness-trainer was on the way.

It never materialized and even before the tour of India when a fitness- trainer seemed a must, I was told that there was no time, as if the fitness trainer would be coming from out of space.

Woolmer has much praise for the talent of the Pakistan players but he said it loud and clear that the players do not meet the fitness standards that are required.

That means that there is still a long way to go but a start has been made and the players have accepted the rigorous training and one hopes that full physical fitness will become a part of our cricket culture.

I think that the role of Yasir Hameed as an opening batsman will have to be re-examined as well as whether Younis Khan has a place in the playing eleven. In the case of Yasir, I get the feeling that he has not properly understood his role. He got bogged down and was not able to rotate the strike and finally got into a panic and was out to horrible shot.

I think Imran Farhat should have played. He is a left-hander and in the conditions in Holland, his leg-spin might have been useful. Shahid Afridi seems to confound his detractors. He started his innings with band but once again got carried away but this time he was properly used as a bowler and he delivered in spades.

Afridi gets too much advice and the best way of dealing with him is to leave it to him. He knows he was out playing a poor shot. We should not rub it in. Afridi's best performances came when Wasim Akram was his captain. There was communication between them.

Inzamamul Haq was out of order when he was quoted as saying that his selection was his last chance. It's not the best form of encouragement. Woolmer will know how to get the best out of him. I know him personally and he responds to some kind words.

But the Pakistan team looked good. The body language was positive and the fielders showed a lot more energy than they normally do. Inzamam led the team well, he was active and his field placings and bowling changes showed that some home work had been done.

What I have found very disappointing has been the showing of the Pakistan 'A' team in Kenya. Misbahul Haq had an excellent tour and he should be back in the running of the senior team.

Bazid Khan also had a good tour. We need to bring him into the mainstream. No one can question his pedigree. Grandson of Dr Jahangir Khan and son of Majid Khan with Imran and Javed Burki his uncles.

He may be the number three Pakistan is looking for though at the moment Shoaib Malik doesn't seem to be doing anything wrong. But for the time being let's keep an eye on the tournament in Holland and the ICC Champions Trophy.