Tragic times for cricket

Sport and politics never mix. It’s a statement often repeated, but the very tragic events in Lahore yesterday sadly once again underline the total and utter nonsense of that ideal.

The idea that professional cricketers (as well as officials and innocent bystanders) can be targeted in such a ruthless bloodthirsty manner is deeply worrying for the future of the game in Pakistan, and I fear wider into the subcontinent as a whole. The attack seems even more depraved when you consider that Sri Lanka were only touring Pakistan as a replacement for the planned visit of India which was called off following the Mumbai atrocities. The Sri Lankan team stepped into the breach offering home international cricket to a hugely enthusiastic nation for the first time in years. It will be even longer before anyone returns.

There’s very little way of protecting sports teams or officials against single minded terrorist attacks such as this, so the chances of any team agreeing to play in Pakistan in the near future are – absolutely understandably – nil. Instead the only option would appear to be for Pakistan to play ‘home’ fixtures at neutral venues, potentially in Dubai or the UAE.

I wouldn’t claim to know anywhere near enough about Pakistani politics to understand the wider implications of events yesterday, but for the time being thoughts deserve to be with the victims and their families, as well as thanks to those whose actions limited the number casualties to much fewer than could have been the case.