er...
come again?
(stresses mine)Apart from the security, Bevan [representative of the England Players Association] was also concerned about England players having enough things to do while in Pakistan, the report added. The source was cited as saying that Bevan was "assured by the PCB that there was plenty to do for the English players like playing golf even at smaller centers like Multan and Faisalabad."
Am I missing something, or is this a bit ridiculous? What happened to exploring a new country, imbibing a different culture, or simply warming up for the next match?
read the original piece here in The News
8 comments:
This bit is really ridiculous ! Why the hell should there be golf courses for a visiting 'cricket' team ! And they need all the 'state level' security personnel to jog around their golf carts ?
This is really unbelievable level of accomodation PCB is doing, for heaven knows what reasons ! And this is happening when ICC chairman is from Pak. Dalmiya would have promptly shown the door to the ECB gentlmen involved in the bargain. And its not as if Pak does not have enough importance in world cricket. They can simply demand similar ridiculous terms off the ECB for their upcoming tour i.e. refuse to play a test in London, or maybe enough 'sunshine' for players to feel relaxed (I tried hard to come up with something Eng can't promise :-)
haha- sunshine that's funny. The thing is, this is not even a comment on the security concern and sort-of diplomatic stuff thats happening.
That there are golf courses seems a reasonable explanation from the PCB, but what I could not get is the question-that they were 'concerned' about what the players would do with their spare time....absurd!
I also seem to recall having read that ECB included the security concerns of the Barmy army in the discussions ! I mean it fine on PCB's part to promise good all round conditions for supporters etc, but having that as part of official discussions is again ridiculous. There are always concerns when you come from western world to the subcontinent. Those apply to the regular Taj-Mahal Tourists as well. How and why should it be different for a bunch of tourists who chance to have a ticket for the game as well ?
I give up, trying to understand this. PCB beats BCCI hands down, any day :-)
Um, am not so sure about how weird that one is. I suppose one has to understand that in some ways, violence is a part of life in the subcontinent (very broadly speaking)...for people coming from England to folow their cricket team this is the land where Osama purpotedly hides, a dictator supposedly rules and some nations call for to be a terrorist state.
Irrespective of the truth of those claims, they are not verifiable, and the common Barmy Army chap ould understandbaly wonder whether it would be safe for him to make the trip...
But yeah, Pak really (has to) go out of its way to assuage the fears of visitng teams. I feel bad for the PCB there- they do not have as much clout as the BCCI, and are caught between bravado and playing it safe.
Barmy army chaps coming from Eng are not part of cricket tour. They come by choice, as regular tourists. And btw, "Osama doesnt hide in Pak and the Pak President is a great friend, an enemy of terrorists" - all this according to official claims of Bush and Blair duo. So that reasoning doesn't stand. And anyway, that kind of politics should be kept away from cricket. What I was trying to say is that the supporters are not part of official touring party. If Barmy army chap needs assurance, and Eng team doesnt want to play without supporters, that should be ECB's problem.
But probably you are right, PCB caught in deciding what stand to take. And it doesnt have much help from those who can. Likes of Imran and Miandad still trying to get personal mileage out of it.
fair enough, though my intention was not to bring politics into this at all. We should just pause and put ourselves in other's shoes I beleieve. An Indian going to Pakistan last year for the tour was an integral part of the whole series. Just because they are not offically part of the ECB's entourage does not lessen their importance to the game....
and yes, the PCB has too many people interested in their own interests to handle...
Maybe I'm complaining out of jealousy that ECB cares about Eng fans much more than our own BCCI cares about Indian spectators even in our home grounds :-) But definitely a case for feeling sorry for PCB, being pushed into a very tight corner.
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