ICC set to postpone Champions trophy??

Question

Just read this article in cricinfo,it says (PCB) that ICC were set to announce in the next hour they have decided to postpone this from going ahead...Here is a piece from that article..

The International Cricket Council (ICC) is expected to postpone next month's Champions Trophy in Pakistan because four national boards have withdrawn due to security concerns, a Pakistan cricket official said on Sunday.

The governing body's executive board will decide later on Sunday whether the premier eight-team tournament, scheduled to start on Sept. 12, can still be held in Pakistan or will be relocated.

However, the chances of Pakistan staging the event appear slim after South Africa pulled out on Friday following a meeting with an ICC task force set up to brief teams on security arrangements.

Australia, New Zealand and England have also told the ICC they would not be able to send teams to Pakistan in the current situation, a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official, who declined to be identified, told Reuters.

"We are firm about not having the Champions Trophy relocated," the official said. "But we are expecting the ICC to postpone and reschedule it for a later date.

--------------------------------------...

Can you see this going ahead in Pakistan at all??

What will this do for Pakistan's cricketing on a whole??

Do you think the ICC may announce it will go ahead in Sri Lanka or will they wait until they feel Pakistan is safe from the recent and ever increasing bombs?

As i said earlier today i do feel sorry for Pakistan and their cricket players,but this i feel has been done for the safety of all concerned..

And done for the best too..

Answer 1

Thats great news if its true! You can't really trust the media! But i hope its true. If the series is postponed that it will surely be shifted from Pakistan to another country! The ICC will have shifted it to Sri Lanka where the players from the western countries might not want to go there either! So ultimately, the ICC Champs Trophy would be shifted to South Africa.

This is not great news for Pakistan cricket as i know that they wanted to prove the world wrong and that they could've managed to hold a tournament this big but the risk was too big.

Edit: Newsbreak - the Champions Trophy has been postponed and will be held in 2009. Good news for cricket!

Answer 2

Dear Ange,

Yes I see, it is sad news for Pakistan indeed ! I feel right now that the condition in post-Musharraf Pakistan is uncertain. I have no idea (nor does anybody else here) the repercussions in the western Pakistan, the regions bordering Afghanistan. So in this context I understand if the CT is either canceled or moved from Pakistan. However, sad to say the terrorists seem to have won. It is a lesser shame for Pakistan cricket to cancel the tournament, but, it will be a greater one if any foreign players are injured or a similar incident occurs in the packed galleries.

I thought at first you were bagging the Pakistanis, but you have said it all very nicely explaining that you were sorry. Well I thank you !

Your other questions:

Q. Can you see this going ahead in Pakistan at all??

No

Q. What will this do for Pakistan's cricketing on a whole??

Not good. These incidents will not help Pakistani cricket and may diminish the revenue earned. However, as you very well know and can understand this is all the fall-out of cold war politics. As Imran Khan said Pakistan has not been able to rise up succesfully like our great neighbours in the east (read India). This is because of some fundamental problems that never gave democracy a chance.

Q. Do you think the ICC may announce it will go ahead in Sri Lanka or will they wait until they feel Pakistan is safe from the recent and ever increasing bombs?

A. Well, ICC should go ahead and schedule it in Sri Lanka. My reasoning is simple, give another struggling but deserving country a new lease of life. As you can see, Sri Lankan cricket has had a marvellous turn around. Right now they are a real strong team, and can pose a real challenge to the world champions (ie., you guys)..so give them some money and opportunities comparable to the Australians. Frankly, I would be keenly interested to see all the teams participating, and competing in their full strength.

Q. As i said earlier today i do feel sorry for Pakistan and their cricket players,but this i feel has been done for the safety of all concerned..

And done for the best too..

A. Thanks I appreciate it very much.

Rehman of Multan

Answer 3

The PCB has postponed this till next year (hopefully)

Answer 4

its good news

Answer 5

i think its too bad~

Answer 6

well the icc champions trophy has not been postponed as yet however many countries are saying that they will not be attending due to security reasons so if the major countries dont attend the icc may either have to postpone it or invite non test playing nations to take part if this happens this could be a major blow to pakistani cricket

Answer 7

This is the best news i have heard so far,one step closer to an announcement i say.

Hopefully this report in cricinfo is correct and they do say it is off..

Honestly i don't think it will be scheduled to happen in Pakistan.

If anything it will go to Sri Lanka,but when will they possibly find the time to set this up again?..

I think this is a big shame for Pakistan and for their cricket,but it all comes down to safety and safety has not and can not be guaranteed.

Answer 8

I don't think the ICC have been left with any other option other than to postpone the tournament. 4 countries are pulling out, and 2 others are insisting the tournament should go ahead.

Given the current political instability in Pakistan, worsened since Musharraf stood down, it is unlikely any international cricket, certainly involving westerners, will be played there in the near future.

A lot has been made of bomb attacks in Pakistan, and at times on this forum it has almost been made out that these are happening on virtually every street corner. Whilst this is not the case, the amount of bombings occurring are happenning on a more regular basis, and the safety of westerners, who are a particular target of extremists, is a serious concern.

I now can't see this tournamnet going ahead in Pakistan at all. The situation isn't going to resolve itself any time soon.

It is very bad for Pakistan cricket. They are yet again going to be put in a situation where their home matches will have to be played at neutral venues, like they did a few years back in Sharjah.

As for whether the tournament will go ahead in Sri Lanka: There is plenty of trouble there too. Only last year one of my sisters cancelled a holiday to Sri Lanka because of concerns about safety. Additionally, India and Pakistan may object to it going ahead in another country, arguing that it should be held in Pakistan or not at all. I don't see how it can be postponed until Pakistan is "safe" as we are talking about an indefinite timeframe. The extremists are unlikely to suddenly declare an Armistice for say, a week on Tuesday. It could be days, weeks, months, years, even decades before the bombings stop.

So the decision to postpone (and probably cancel) the CT is the right one given the circumstances, although I feel that it is giving in to extremists.

It is now up to the politicians to sort out this mess. One of their making, I may add. The ICC and all the Test nations cricket boards should now heap maximum pressure on their respective governments to seek a resolution to the problems in Pakistan.

Answer 9

It is very clear that there are two GROUPS in the Cricket world. One India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sirlianka, Zimbabwe, West Indies and the other English Speaking countries like NZ, Australia, South Africa and England.

It is all down to dirty politics now. As ICC decided to host Champions trophy in Pakistan and the whole group plus SA supported that. The other group felt that they can not do any thing now but just to take a revenge this way. They have included SA also in their group of English Speaking countries which was not recognised before. They have offered WI to join the same as they believe that WI speak English as a main language.

Whereas India, Pakistan Bangladesh and Sirlanka now whole heartily support one another.

One question is that India and Pakistan fought two wars, Bangladesh was separated from Pakistan and if these two countries feel safe and love to visit one another countries then why Aus and Co. The whole world know that Pakistan is face the War on Terror because of these English Speaking countries. If today they start supporting and stop fight against these Afghani Talibans then it will become a safe country.

I request to all these English Speaking countries to not divide Cricket in to two polls as next time India, Pak, etc will not your countries and at the end we all will lose. If Jeff Lawson and family can enjoy living in Pakistan and the umpires and commentators love to go their then why you not......

Thanks and best of luck. May Good Cricket Win!!!

Answer 10

No i can't see the trophy going ahead in Pakistan or Sri Lanka.

Both have concerns with safety and if you move the trophy to Sri Lanka, your just going to be waiting on teams to choose whether or not they will boycott.

I feel sorry for Pakastani people too, well i guess they can look back and say they always had the Asia Cup.

EDIT: Bingalee and Sara Johnson are the reasons i hate this issue. Talking like Asia and Western countries are different worlds, they may be different but they're not two different worlds.

Answer 11

This is good news!

Sarah  Johnson, what a lot of emotional claptrap you speak. You have no understanding of things in our part of the world. You are so used to violence where you live that you expect us to be immune to it also. That is never going to happen in our world.People like you just don't know the freedom & security we enjoy in the Western world. Please don't try to take it from us.