CAPE TOWN, 23 September 2003 — South African cricket authorities, who canceled at the weekend a tour to Pakistan because of security concerns, are to meet today to discuss a revised itinerary.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has said it will claim damages of approximately $7 million from the United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCBSA) if it does not reverse its decision to cancel the tour.
The UCBSA confirmed in a media release yesterday that it had received a letter from PCB Chief Executive Rameez Raja in which alternative tour fixtures were offered.
“We understand how much this tour means to Pakistan and we have always done everything we could to ensure the tour could go ahead,” UCBSA Chief Executive Gerald Majola said.
“We will continue to make every effort to find alternatives that do not pose an unacceptable level of risk to our national team.”
South Africa has been particularly concerned about matches scheduled for Karachi and Peshawar, near the border with Afghanistan, following consultation with safety and security consultants and South Africa’s High Commissioner in Karachi.
The tour was given a final go-ahead last week, but the UCB subsequently decided to call it off because of a bomb blast in Karachi on Friday.
However the revised tour itinerary drops Karachi and Peshawar as match venues, limiting the two Tests and three one-day matches to Lahore, Rawalpindi and Faisalabad.
Majola is to discuss the amended itinerary with his management committee today and will also receive a full briefing from security consultants. South Africa coach Eric Simons and captain Graeme Smith will also be included in the process and the committee will consult the South African government before any decision is taken.
“We made a decision on Saturday, based on information from our security consultants who had also been in contact with intelligence agencies,” Majola said.
“That information was that the situation in Pakistan, particularly following a bomb blast in Karachi on Friday evening, meant that sending our team to Karachi on Sunday as planned would have constituted an unacceptable risk.
“We will continue to assess the security situation and will look at it specifically in relation to the proposed alternative fixtures.”
Pakistan Ready to Sue
for $7m Tour Damages
In Karachi, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will file a damages claim for approximately $7 million against its South African counterparts if its tour of Pakistan does not go ahead.
The matter would be considered by the governing body International Cricket Council’s (ICC) disputes resolution committee. “The figure of seven million is an estimated one and includes our total earnings from the series including sale of television rights, title sponsorship and other sponsorship deals,” PCB spokesman Samiul Hasan told Reuters yesterday.
