KARACHI: “Zimbabwe tour may well have proceeded without any untoward incident but that in no way means future tours in Pakistan are safe,” Heath Mills, chief executive of New Zealand Cricket Players Association (NZCPA), said.

In an exclusive interview with Dawn, Heath said New Zealand Cricket would rely on advice from independent security advisors to tour Pakistan. “We will continue to take the advice of independent security experts around these matters and they will guide any recommendations we make to players,” he said.

“We are guided by independent security advisors and they advised FICA (Federation of International Cricketers’ Association) that the risk, and the ability to mitigate against it, continued to remain too great for a cricket tour of Pakistan,” he added.

With all legitimate security concerns, Zimbabwe Cricket’s decision to tour Pakistan “in spite of the independent security advised received” was surprising for the NZCPA’s chief executive. “We are surprised that the Zimbabwe board took a decision to tour Pakistan at this point in time. I understand that Zimbabwe’s own security experts advised them not to tour after visiting Pakistan for assessment of situation, and so too the ICC experts,” he said.

When asked would the New Zealand Cricket be willing to show faith in Pakistan’s security arrangements and determination to protect visitors after the tragic 2009 Sri Lankan team-bus attack, Heath said, “It’s not a question of ‘showing faith’ and just hoping all will be okay. We must be guided by experts and they will make an assessment based on the level of risk at the time, and the ability of local authorities to mitigate that risk and protect our people.”

The Sri Lankan attack proved that cricket was now a direct target of terror groups, he said, adding: “It also showed how exposed a team is even though there were significant security standards in place. Unfortunately, we have also known for some time here in New Zealand that in spite of ‘high levels’ and ‘presidential’ security our people can still get caught in attacks and potentially be collateral damage.”

In response to a question whether the ICC’s decision to “recognise” series between Pakistan and Zimbabwe as official and yet not sending any umpires was contradictory, Heath said: “The ICC is a Members organisation now and they don’t seem willing to stop tours at all. They leave decisions as to whether to play or not up to individual cricket boards.

“The ICC only appears to control what happens to their match officials and they have obviously made a decision that there is too much risk at the present time to send them. I think the ICC should have a greater say when it comes to security matters and provide an independent perspective on these matters in the future.”

The NZCPA chief executive, however, sympathised with Pakistan cricket and said he was disappointed with the absence of international cricket there for six years. “It is disappointing that Pakistan has not had any international cricket played in its country in recent years and we all sympathise with the situation.

“It is very clear that the terror threat in Pakistan has not gone away given recent incidents and we hope the Pakistan government continues to work hard to try to keep its people safe. That is more important than cricket,” he said.

Published in Dawn, June 2nd, 2015

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