Published: Mar 04, 2015, 02:36 PM (IST)
Edited: Mar 04, 2015, 02:36 PM (IST)
Former opener Mark Richardson, who was part of the New Zealand squad which called-off their tour of Pakistan after a bomb blast in 2002, said on Wednesday he felt pity that the nation has become a cricket no-go zone.
Touring nation New Zealand flew back home at the start of the second and final Test in Karachi in May 2002, after a blast close to their hotel took the lives of 13 French naval staff.
“The over-riding memories are sad ones when the bomb went off in Karachi on the morning of the game,” Richardson was quoted in a report by Cricketcountry.com.
“We had security concerns but we had started very comfortably. We had visited a fast food restaurant in Karachi and we were feeling very comfortable and then ‘kaboom’ and it was frightening and unfortunately we were on the plane back home later that day.”
“It was a sad end,” recollected Richardson, who represented his nation in 43 Tests and 4 One-Day Internationals (ODIs).
“We felt for our hosts, it wasn’t like a daily occurrence. They were as shocked and as freaked out as we were. You feel for Pakistan,” he added.
“It was very dusty, the glass doors in my room caved in. Luckily I was in the bathroom and I had another wall protecting me so I didn’t get hurt by glass. There was damage to the hotel even though we were some way away from the blast. People lost their lives which were tragic,” the former player said while recalling the destruction.
“There was shrapnel flying over our hotel from 100-150 metres, the power of the blast was frightening. Our bus was due to go in about five minutes and had the blast been five minutes later, our bus would have gone straight through that zone. We were lucky with the timing.”
That was the commencement of the end for international cricket in Pakistan as internal security deteriorated further in the nation.
This Tuesday marked the sixth anniversary of the militant attacks on the Sri Lankan team bus, which killed eight people and injured seven Sri Lankan players. Those brash attacks suspended all the international games in Pakistan and compelled Pakistan to play their home games in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
“I think it’s terrible for Pakistan, which is one of the major cricketing nations,” the 43 year-old said after calling Pakistan a vital cricketing nation.
“I think the sporting community has very little say in this. It’s not even the political environment, but it’s for the people who understand the environment, people with a lot more power who know diplomacy.”
“You want to be able to tour Pakistan, it’s not about playing Pakistan in international cricket but it’s about going to someone’s home and taking them on in their own environment but you can’t do that,” he added.
