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Pakistan turn to ICC

Ml Cricket

REUTERS/INTERNET, undated
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) sought the support of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and its member countries on Thursday to ensure that Pakistan is not isolated as an international venue.
"I have spoken to the ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed, and our viewpoint was that the (ICC) member boards should hold on before giving any policy statements to allow the situation to settle down," PCB director Brigadier Munawar Rana told Reuters.
New Zealand cut short their tour of Pakistan on Wednesday after a bomb blast outside their Karachi hotel shortly before the start of the second and final Test.
The bomb exploded alongside a navy bus parked near two major city hotels, killing 14 people including 11 French defence technicians.
"We ourselves are upset by this incident," said Rana. "We can now only regroup and hope for the best. But we need the support of the ICC and member nations in this regard.
"We did our best to provide the maximum security arrangements for the New Zealand team and they
appreciated this fact -- as has the ICC. What happened was beyond our control.
"But we realise the incident has put Pakistan cricket back and could have negative effects in the future, and this is why we want the ICC and member nations to hold on and wait for things to settle down and allow us to regroup."
Rana said he appreciated the cautious statement made by the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) regarding their tour to Pakistan scheduled to start in September.
"I suppose at this stage the tour is going ahead but what's happened today in Pakistan has obviously caused significant concern to us," said ACB chief executive James Sutherland.
Rana said the abandonment of the New Zealand tour would prove costly for Pakistan cricket.
"It is difficult to say how much the loss is going to be. But we have lost out on five days of cricket, which means five days of television revenues, sponsorship and advertising returns."
Rana said the PCB was still evaluating the financial losses, but that the board had expected 2 million dollars in television revenue from the two-match series.
Pakistan cricket has already suffered following the September 11 attacks on the United States,
with international teams refusing to tour Pakistan for security reasons.
The PCB only managed to persuade New Zealand to tour with the help of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), although usually not even domestic cricket is played in Pakistan during May due to the hot weather conditions.
West Indies called off a tour to Pakistan earlier this year, which was later played on neutral territory in Sharjah.
But the shifting of that series and the reduction in Tests played from three to two cost the PCB an estimated 1 million dollars in potential earnings.
Meanwhile, ICC president Malcolm Gray has described the cancelling of New Zealand's tour as another blow for the sport in Pakistan.
"At the moment everything's up in the air, as it has been since September 11," Gray said.
"We're constantly working with Pakistan to restore normality but this is another blow, and in addition there is the political problem with India that stops them going there."
The ICC has yet to decide how the cancellation will affect its Test Championship, launched a year ago with the aim of standardising playing schedules.