da pinup bet： The ICC has sought to clarify remarks made by Haroon Lorgat, itschief executive, which have been construed as casting doubts on theviability of Pakistan as an international venue
Cricinfo staff22-Dec-2008
ICC officials say the inspection was in the pipeline and is not directly related to the Sri Lanka tour © AFP
The ICC has sought to clarify remarks made by Haroon Lorgat, itschief executive, which have been construed as casting doubts on theviability of Pakistan as an international venue. Lorgat said the ICC wouldconduct an independent security assessment of the country before appointing officials for Sri Lanka’s tour next month but ICC officials say the inspection was in the pipeline and isnot directly related to the tour.”We will do an independent assessment of the situation in Pakistan toensure the safety of the umpires and match referee,” Lorgat said in Mohaliduring the second Test between India and England. “I am convinced the Sri Lankanboard will also do everything to ascertain whether it is safe to play inPakistan and also seek assurances from the Pakistan Cricket Board.”The Pakistan board was caught off-guard by the comments, which suggestedthat ICC security assessments would precede even bilateral contests inPakistan. This would be a break from past practice; for instance thisyear, when Australia pulled out of a tour to Pakistan over securityconcerns, the ICC hadn’t spoken of an independent security assessment forits own officials. When England returned to India after the Mumbaiattacks, the BCCI’s security arrangements satisfied Reg Dickason, thesecurity consultant for the ECB, and also the ICC.Lorgat, it is learned, later called Zakir Khan, PCB director cricketoperations, and explained that the comments had been taken out of contextand that there had been nothing alarming about what he had said. “Wereceived a call from Lorgat and he explained what he had meant by hiscomments,” an official told Cricinfo. “He explained that there was nothingalarmist in what he said and we are satisfied with that. As far as we areconcerned it is a non-issue.”ICC officials later released a statement clarifying precisely what Lorgat’sremarks conveyed; in it they explained that such an assessment had beenplanned in any case, as part of an ongoing assessment towards the ICCChampions Trophy, scheduled to be held in Pakistan in 2009.”Security would have to be assessed on an ongoing basis anyway as we movetowards the ICC Champions Trophy. We would have done that during thePakistan-India tour had it taken place,” the statement read, referring toIndia’s withdrawal from the tour after the Indian government refusedpermission for the team to visit Pakistan. After the Champions Trophy waspostponed in September 2008, the ICC had said that a security review wouldtake place after India’s tour to Pakistan, which would then form the basisof further assessment before the 2009 tournament was confirmed.But the ICC also reiterated Lorgat’s stance, that safety issues forofficials and spectators were as important as those for the players. “Theissue is that safety and security is not simply a matter for players; it’salso a matter for everyone else – broadcasters, journalists and matchofficials too, as well as spectators. From the ICC’s perspective, whatwould be required is that the match officials are afforded the same levelof security as any or everyone else involved in the series.”The statement also raised the issue of umpires willing to tour. “Just likewith players, officials have choices about whether or not they wish toattend a tour and are also likely to be guided by the views of their owngovernments. [However] the ICC has a significant number of officials andwould certainly expect to be able to identify enough of them to stand inthe tour.”Sri Lanka agreed to tour Pakistan after India’s withdrawal for what willnow be a series of three Tests and five ODIs.