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Opinion
I’ll let you in on two secrets. I don’t do bucket lists. And I’ve never been to Pakistan – but I’d love to go.
I gather from friends who’ve been there that it’s a stunning country with magnificent scenery and really good food. Islamabad is apparently one of the most beautiful cities in the world. I also understand the people are wonderful hosts, very welcoming and hospitable.
These are all terrific reasons in my book to go over and watch Australia play Tests, ODIs and a T20 in country for the first time in 24 years.
Cricket Australia (CA) announced they wanted this tour to go ahead in March next year, and CEO Nick Hockley made it clear he wanted to play matches in various Pakistani cities. This is such a good move for a variety of reasons.
Australia needs to tour. The last time Australia toured anywhere other than England for the Ashes was in October 2018. Ironically it was a two-Test series against Pakistan, but it was in the UAE.
Granted, there’s been all manner of reasons and excuses offered for not touring since then, some of which are fair enough but some of which seem dubious. COVID and bubble fatigue have been the go-to reasons, though whether they’re reasonable is debatable.
(Photo by Michael Steele-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)
Australia also wants to claim top spot in the various rankings, but that’s a false claim if the different squads never leave the country. We have to show we’re capable of winning anywhere, something both India and New Zealand have achieved in recent times.
Australia needs to tour Pakistan. In effect Pakistan cricket has been punished because of an act of terrorism on the touring Sri Lankan team in 2009, with Australia and several other nations refusing to tour since. This seems a tad excessive, but this issue will be discussed at length a bit later.
We’ve happily invited Pakistan to tour Australia on six occasions in the past 24 years to keep the Cricket Australia coffers topped up. Surely it’s about time we gave something back to their board.
And don’t forget their fans, who are as passionate about cricket as any nation playing the game. Imagine 20-odd Australian summers without any international cricket. That’s what they’ve had to endure, and it’s time that situation was put right.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja predictably was making very positive noises about this tour, but I’m sure he must have his doubts on two fronts.
The first and less obvious is the IPL, which is due to start on 27 March. Presumably players who are picked up by franchises would need to be there a couple of weeks beforehand.
This could become a battle between players on Cricket Australia contracts – for example, Steve Smith, Dave Warner, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins et cetera – and the IPL. Clearly guys like Hazlewood will be in huge demand in the IPL, so CA will need to decide whether its international cricket obligations trump the opportunity for select players to make a few quid.
I don’t think there’s any way Australia can or should send a second-string squad on this tour. It’s fair enough to leave out injured players or maybe players wanting a break after a tough Australian summer, but allowing guys to play IPL instead of Test cricket is simply wrong.
The major issue for this tour will be the thought of some form of attack, and unfortunately this fear factor seems to have taken over the narrative when it comes to discussing tours. Sadly, though, this fear factor is not put into any real context.
The central reason cricket teams haven’t visited Pakistan has been the threat of terrorism, and in fairness that threat is still real – but it’s real in the UK too, where there have been 20 acts of terrorism since 2009, and the British government rates its threat level as substantial, meaning an attack is likely. Or consider alternatively the rate of gun violence in the United States – 600 mass shooting events took place in 2020 alone. India too is no stranger to violence.
But we’ll send our sportspeople to any of these nations without a second thought.
Nick Hockley is 100 per cent right when he says player safety has to be a priority, but he and the players need to work with the PCB to come up with ways to make this tour work. In other words, they should not take the easy option and pull the pin on the basis that they may receive a threat.
I’m sure terrorism threats are made in England and India regularly, but I’m also sure Cricket Australia and the Australian government have faith in the various security forces in those countries to keep our guys safe. We have to trust the Pakistan forces can do likewise.
They’ve managed to do it for overseas players in their T20 Super League competition. They’ve also hosted other cricketing nations in recent times, and their player safety was no different to ours.
The tour of Pakistan is critical to Australia and our credibility as a senior cricketing nation. Cricket Australia needs to send its best squad, which means players will have to miss the IPL if chosen – or play only those games scheduled once the tour is finished. It’s also a test of Nick Hockley’s credibility. He’s publicly backed this tour, so he needs to do everything he can to make it work.
If the tour can’t go ahead, it has to be completely clear why and the reason must be obvious and credible so there can be no blowback, especially after the recent cancellations by the Black Caps and England.
Just for once it would great if players and officials stopped running the fear line and actually embraced all the positives that come from touring a country like Pakistan. Perhaps if they did that, they’d find all manner of reasons to go there make this tour a success.
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