Pakistan heaved a huge sigh of relief yesterday after Zimbabwe’s high-stakes, high-security tour ended without major incident, the first top-level international cricket in the insurgency-hit country in six years.
Cricket-mad Pakistani fans, starved of action at home since the 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka team bus, filled Lahore’s Gaddafi stadium for two Twenty20s and three one-day internationals.
As the Africans flew out early yesterday, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was already talking up the chances of luring more international teams. But much remains to be done to convince foreign boards, players and umpires that the country is once again safe to tour.
Zimbabwe are a fairly low-profile team but they still needed a mammoth security operation with 4,000 policemen guarding the stadium and another 2,000 at the team hotel and on their route to the ground.
Even with these measures in place, a blast hit Lahore during Friday’s second ODI, killing two people. Zimbabwe went ahead with the final ODI and PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan said it was a complete team effort, which helped the revival, and hailed the courage of the police.
“I think praise is due to an unknown policeman guarding the team to the government and to every cricket fan who packed the stadium despite security hassles and made this a successful and safe series,” Khan said.
Zimbabwe Cricket managing director Alistair Campbell said: “It was a tough decision to send the team, but in the end we are happy that we played a part in the cricket revival in Pakistan with a safe and successful tour.”
The PCB is now seeking to have Sri Lanka agree to tour, possibly next year.
Sri Lanka Cricket’s interim committee chairman Sidath Wettimuny, who was at the third ODI, said he was delighted at the success of the tour but refused to commit to anything.
“It’s too early to say anything. It was important to come here and it was a goodwill gesture on our part. We have always been very supportive of Pakistan cricket. I will go back and tell our board what I have seen and take it from there,” he said.
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