What's your view? Should they go?
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Should Australian Cricket team tour Pakistan?
- Thread starter The Doctor
- Start date
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The situation over in Pakistan will be monitored closely by the ACB I'm sure, and whatever they decide to do will be in the best interests of our players which is what's most important. 
So, to answer the question....
If it's safe for our players, YES!!
If it's not safe, NO!!
Cheers!!
SeinDude
So, to answer the question....
If it's safe for our players, YES!!
If it's not safe, NO!!
Cheers!!
SeinDude
yes they should go.
Pakistan is huge place...things will always be hapenning.
In Australia:
Some guy bombed the Hilton in Sydney in the 1970's
Martin Bryant went crazy ape bonkers down in Tassie
We had riots during a South African tour in the 1970's
Is Australia unsafe ?
Unless there is a war then if you do not go the terrorists win.
Satay Mat
Pakistan is huge place...things will always be hapenning.
In Australia:
Some guy bombed the Hilton in Sydney in the 1970's
Martin Bryant went crazy ape bonkers down in Tassie
We had riots during a South African tour in the 1970's
Is Australia unsafe ?
Unless there is a war then if you do not go the terrorists win.
Satay Mat
Satay Mat,
Stephen Fleming, the New Zealand captain broke down when describing what he and the rest of his team saw and experienced when he was talking about it last week. He advised Australia not to tour Pakistan, and as someone who captained and led his team over in those hostile and dangerous conditions, he'd be someone who knows what he's talking about!!
Adam Gilchrist came out and said Pakistan was a tour he'd gladly not take, and who could blame him!!
How on earth are the players supposed to concentrate on their cricket and perform to their best when they're worried about their safety??
That is absolute and utter rubbish!! The most important thing is the safety and well-being of our cricketers, not making a political stand or letting or not letting the terrorists win.... this is about a game of cricket for goodness sake!!
If the ACB decides it's not safe enough in Pakistan for us to tour there, then so be it.
Cheers!!
SeinDude
name one player who as actually been affected by any incident whist o/s (getting hit by a 50 cent coin at the MCG excluded).
Why is it unsafe ?
Why was Zimbabwe unsafe ?
Why not just exclude all countries from international cricket unless you can meet some standards regarding the development of your country ???
Exactly what in Pakistan is unsafe ?
SM
Why is it unsafe ?
Why was Zimbabwe unsafe ?
Why not just exclude all countries from international cricket unless you can meet some standards regarding the development of your country ???
Exactly what in Pakistan is unsafe ?
SM
Switchedon
Rookie
Playing with peoples lives?
not worth the risk IMO.
not worth the risk IMO.
jefffff34
Brownlow Medallist
- Sep 20, 2001
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Show some ticker ACB! Send them over to play the games, it's the same everywhere.....
Mark Ealham almost gets hit by a billiard ball at the MCG
Michael Bevan gets hit by a can of beer at Lords
No one ever doubts going to Western countries.
Mark Ealham almost gets hit by a billiard ball at the MCG
Michael Bevan gets hit by a can of beer at Lords
No one ever doubts going to Western countries.
Richie Benaud
Senior List
It will be very interesting to see what the ACB decides to do with regards to the Pakistan tour. Australia boycotted a World Cup game in Sri Lanka in 1996 as a result of all the troubles in that country at the time and my gut feeling on this is that we wont tour.
Hoggy,
We're not talking about onfield crowd behaviour here mate. We're talking about bombs going off right outside team's hotels, people being killed and seriously injured and basically the general safety of people who play sport and represent our country.
I can't help think what will happen if we do send our team and something serious happens to one or more of our players. These are real people here, most with wives, kids, families, etc etc.
Sometimes, there's simply much more important things to life than a game!!
Cheers!!
SeinDude
If a single player was ever seriously physically hurt in a terrorist attack then we wouldn't be debating this now would we.
This is the third major terrorist attack during a New Zealand tour, from previous experience they have determined that the best policy is to leave.
When Imran Khan admits that much of rural Pakistan is held hostage to the law of the gun, and that the country has been flooded with cheap weapons, then perhaps his opinion on the negative consequences of this to his country are more relevant that yours or mine.
The fact is this worst case scenario in Pakistan was depressingly predictable, bloody, and yet again for this part of the world motivated by anti-government political objectives.
As for Zimbabwe, when any government intentionally uses widespread terror, and murder, to sustain its own corrupt agenda it can not expect societies that oppose such actions not to consider any interaction as unsafe.
The fact is in Pakistan an Sri Lanka every touring party is surrounded by heavily armed security forces, why do you think that is. If these countries are so damn safe to tour why did the Black Caps create the position of specialist Security Manager?
Why has the airline the team 'fled' on Singapore Airlines, since cancelled all flights to Pakistan, why?
You are the brave hero, tell us how you would react immediately after an explosion and the first head count of your touring party is eight. Meanwhile street victims are literally staggering past missing body limbs and screaming out in pain.
And yes I would consider a suicide bomber blowing up a bus identical to your own team bus less than 50 metres from your hotel as a prime example of the country being unsafe.
An don't even think of laying that monocultural bias crap on me, I've lived in an unstable Asian country for several years also.
As always an ounce of prevention is always worth more than a pound of cure.
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You dumb f*ck it is pure and simple why not to tour. The bomb exploeded OUTSIDE THE KIWI HOTEL WHILST THEY WERE IN THE FOYER. It is that simple.
How can you expect anyone to go their when unlike Sri Lanka and the Tamal tigers sporting events and tours especially cricket are now a prime target of terrorists who support the old Afghan regime. The tamal's attack military and political positions and are careful not to bring their conflict to the public only make them aware of it.
With this threat and show of where they can get to, the Australian cricket team is a prime target given our support for the US and commitment of troups to the Afghanistan genocide (my opinion). the ACB would be stupid to tour.
Zimbabwe was political though, I think that little honest John put some presure on the ACB to stop the tour.
NYPomme
Senior List
I ask this out of ignorance, but what makes the Australian national cricket team a terrorist target in Pakistan?
and so we never tour Pakistan again then ????
Did we cancel tours to England when the IRA were blowing up tude stations ? What about when they blew up the Conservative Party in Brighton ???
Shall we not travel to the US because some crazy guys flew a plane into a building a killed 500 times the number of people as a bus in Pakistan.
If there is a war on then do not go. However I feel that the fact that it is an asian country raises questions which would not normally be asked.
Yesterday a train was derailed in India...apparently in purpose. Do we now not tour India as well ?
I would like to see your criteria for deciding if it is safe of not.
Satay Mat
Might as well make our batsmen face granades instead of a cricket ball. I say NO dont send them. The risk is far to high to send our team over there.
For all who say send them I ask you this "Would you currently if given the chance go on a holiday to Pakistan?" I bet you wouldn't.
Keep the boys home until they can 100% guarantee their safety.
BigKev
For all who say send them I ask you this "Would you currently if given the chance go on a holiday to Pakistan?" I bet you wouldn't.
Keep the boys home until they can 100% guarantee their safety.
BigKev
Not until the ACB can be assured of our players safety while in Pakistan. That is the most important thing remember, not the fact that you wont have cricket to watch on Foxtel in September!!
No because the safety of our cricketers was not under threat at those times. We did boycott a World Cup game in Sri Lanka in 1996 after the fighting and killing that was going on in that country at the time, thus deemed unsafe for us to play there.
We don't play cricket in the United States!!
It is irrelevant whether it's an asian country, a western country or the back yard at my nan's place.... the same questions are asked before every proposed tour. The ACB has a responsability to ensure that conditions meet the required standards and currently, going by the horrific experience suffered by the New Zealanders in Pakistan just recently, they are not acceptable.
That's just being silly!!
The ACB like every other country's cricket boards has a responsability to it's players to make sure touring conditions meet the required standards as far as player safety, playing conditions, transport, etc etc.
Satay Mat,
You are certainly entitled to your opinion, no doubt about that. However, it seems to me you're more concerned that you wont have any cricket to watch on the tv in September (in your cardboard box!!
) then you are with the safety of our elite sports people.The question I would ask you is this....
"If you were in charge of the Australian cricket team and made the decision that we should tour a country like Pakistan despite what is going on there, and something happened to one or more of our players.... (and I'm talking something serious such as people dying) what would YOU do???"
Think about it!!
Cheers!!
SeinDude
I think that is pure popularism Seindude.
Tell me how the ACB will be assured of safety. Are you suggesting that when the NZCB asked they got the answer:
"no it is not really safe....could be a few bombs, not much we can do....but come anyway"
So what has to happen for it to be safe ?
England toured Pakistan last year without incident.
To answer your question.....
I would make sure that all reasonable steps have been taken prior to going. That is all you can do. But there is a risk to player safety everytime they take the field, every time they go on tour....if you want a 100% guarentee then we will just stop playing all together.
I also think where it is is important. We did not go to Sri Lanka....were our cricketersat threat ??? were they under threat in Zimbabwe ??? any more than in England during the IRA ??? But no-one would think about cancelling an England tour.
Cricket has been played on the sub-continent for decades, and there has always been trouble....name one incident where someone has actually been hurt or attacked.
I will give you one for free.....the 1976 Olympics in Montreal (I think I have the year right....Palestinians go crazy ape bonkers and knock off the Isreali team....should we cancel going to Canada ???....or was it Munich ??? anyway....we did not come home then.
I will also let you in on something. In 4 weeks I will be moving to live in India....right where people are knocking each other off round about now. I have a wife and 2 kids, with one on the way. So, actually I face this decision daily, and not just for some highly paid sports professionals but for my own family. What did I do ? I went over and checked it out for myself. Made a call based on facts rather than CNN.
So please, don't tell me it is just so I have something to watch on TV in September.
Satay Mat
Tell me how the ACB will be assured of safety. Are you suggesting that when the NZCB asked they got the answer:
"no it is not really safe....could be a few bombs, not much we can do....but come anyway"
So what has to happen for it to be safe ?
England toured Pakistan last year without incident.
To answer your question.....
I would make sure that all reasonable steps have been taken prior to going. That is all you can do. But there is a risk to player safety everytime they take the field, every time they go on tour....if you want a 100% guarentee then we will just stop playing all together.
I also think where it is is important. We did not go to Sri Lanka....were our cricketersat threat ??? were they under threat in Zimbabwe ??? any more than in England during the IRA ??? But no-one would think about cancelling an England tour.
Cricket has been played on the sub-continent for decades, and there has always been trouble....name one incident where someone has actually been hurt or attacked.
I will give you one for free.....the 1976 Olympics in Montreal (I think I have the year right....Palestinians go crazy ape bonkers and knock off the Isreali team....should we cancel going to Canada ???....or was it Munich ??? anyway....we did not come home then.
I will also let you in on something. In 4 weeks I will be moving to live in India....right where people are knocking each other off round about now. I have a wife and 2 kids, with one on the way. So, actually I face this decision daily, and not just for some highly paid sports professionals but for my own family. What did I do ? I went over and checked it out for myself. Made a call based on facts rather than CNN.
So please, don't tell me it is just so I have something to watch on TV in September.
Satay Mat
Satay Mat,
The bottom line here is that conditions in Pakistan are not safe for anyone, let alone our elite sports people!! I certainly wouldn't travel there so I'm not expecting our cricketers to have to go there just to play a game of cricket!!
The ACB will take everything into account, and I'm sure whatever they decide will be in the best interests of Australian cricket and it's people.
You are entitled to your opinion, and good luck to you living in India. I hope you're never faced with the same thoughts Stephen Fleming had when he couldn't account for half his team after the bomb blast, otherwise you may think a little differently on this issue!!
Cheers!!
SeinDude
The bottom line here is that conditions in Pakistan are not safe for anyone, let alone our elite sports people!! I certainly wouldn't travel there so I'm not expecting our cricketers to have to go there just to play a game of cricket!!
The ACB will take everything into account, and I'm sure whatever they decide will be in the best interests of Australian cricket and it's people.
You are entitled to your opinion, and good luck to you living in India. I hope you're never faced with the same thoughts Stephen Fleming had when he couldn't account for half his team after the bomb blast, otherwise you may think a little differently on this issue!!
Cheers!!
SeinDude
Not until the conditions over there settle down a bit so that safety can be maintained, all be it with guards, officials, etc etc, such has occured on past Australian tours to the sub-continent.
Anywhere the ACB decides is not safe for us to tour.
Cheers!!
SeinDude
