Chris Broad under fire for going overboard once more

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Chris Broad, the former England opening batsman turned commentator and match referee, has had the habit of hitting the headlines for the wrong reasons. It’s an open secret that it was his temperament more than form or fitness that curtailed his career as an international cricketer.

Unlike England’s cricket board, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has been generous enough to overlook Broad’s follies so far. But he may have to face the music now after the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Ijaz Butt, has accused him of lying in connection with the recent attack on the visiting Sri Lankan team and the match officials.

Broad, who was the ICC match referee for the Pakistan-Sri Lanka series, had lashed out at the security arrangements and went on to the extent of considering the attack in Lahore as a death knell for cricket in Pakistan.

The outspoken Broad appeared to have gone overboard while talking to the media upon his return in England. It would have been more appropriate if he communicated his observations directly to the ICC instead of publicly expressing his anger and dismay.

“I'm angry with the Pakistani security forces. We were promised high level security and in our hour of need that security vanished. There was not a sign of a policeman anywhere. They had clearly gone, left the scene and left us to be sitting ducks,” Broad was quoted as saying. 

"I raised my concerns with the ICC before the tour started and they passed on those concerns to the Pakistan board. They assured me through e-mail that all security would be taken care of, presidential-style security. And clearly that didn't happen,” he thought.

"When we were in the van we weren't aware of what was going on outside. But after the incident when you watch the TV pictures you can clearly see the white van we were in, next to the ambulance in the middle of a roundabout, with terrorists shooting into our van and past our van and not a sign of a policeman anywhere," he charged.

The charges, however, have been denied by the top functionary of the PCB. "It is a big lie that there were no policemen. A commando jumped over Broad and saved his life. The commando was hurt so if there was no policeman, how come Broad was saved? All his statements are false.

He has now made obnoxious comments. That a gentleman of his stature is saying this is unfortunate," Ijaz Butt, Chairman PCB, stated during the media briefing in Lahore on March 5.

 "He said that there wasn’t any policeman there. I think there could be no bigger lie than this because six policemen died and ten are injured. Our people have also been injured. We lost six policemen who were trying to protect the cricketers and the match officials. So if some one is complaining about just a scratch, then it is very sad," Ijaz Butt, known for calling a spade a spade, asserted.

He has also announced that the PCB would lodge a formal protest with the ICC against Broad, who has remained a controversial figure in the past as well. One hopes that the ICC would take some action on the matter.

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Sri Lankan cricketers attacked on Pakistan’s darkest hour in sports history

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

March 3, 2009 will go down in Pakistan’s sporting history as the darkest day. It was for the first time in Pakistan when the sportspersons were directly targeted. The visiting Sri Lankan cricketers were attacked when they were on their way to the Qaddafi Stadium on what was to be the third day of the second and final Test.

Half a dozen Pakistani policemen sacrificed their lives in the process of protecting the lives of the Sri Lankans, five of whom were among 19 wounded, in the daylight attack.

Skipper Mahela Jayawardene, his deputy Kumar Sangakkara and the mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis received minor injuries but star batsman Thilan Samaraweera and opener Tharanga Paravitarana were seriously injured.

The Test match was abandoned right away and the tour was called off. The Sri Lankan squad, having endured nightmarish moments earlier in the day, must have heaved a sigh of relief after safely landing in Colombo.

The Sri Lankan captain was quick to point out, upon his arrival in Colombo, that it was their own terror background that helped them in saving their lives when the bus carrying them to the stadium was ambushed.

"We have been brought up in a background of terrorist activities. We are used to hearing, seeing these things - firing, bombings. So we ducked under our seats when the firing began. It was like natural instinct," he was quoted as saying.

Jayawardene, very sportingly, also said that the attack on the team could have happened anywhere and could not be pinned down to Pakistan.

The other teams might have panicked in such circumstances that would have obviously caused greater damage. The Sri Lankans handled the situation very well during and after the attack.

Sri Lanka, after having piled up a total in the excess of 600 in the first innings for the second Test running, must have believed that they had a realistic chance of winning the game which would have also given them the series.

Thee march towards victory was in their thoughts when they boarded the bus at 8.30 am. As Sangakkara wrote in his diary they were all looking forward to the third day's play and trying to win the series. 

He added: The bus was full of the normal banter. Players traded stories, mostly about Lahore shopping, and cracked jokes. Others chatted about the cricket and the crucial first session. Then, as we approached the large roundabout before the Gaddafi Stadium, we suddenly heard a noise like a firecracker. The bus came to a halt and some of the guys jumped out of their seats to see what was happening. Then came the shout: "They are shooting at us!" 

“The truth is we owe our lives to the courageous Mohammad Khalil, the driver. I will forever be grateful to him. The tyres of the bus had been shot out and he was in grave personal danger, exposed to gunfire at the front of the bus. But he was hell-bent on getting us to safety and, somehow, he got us moving again. Had Khalil not acted with such courage and presence of mind most of us would have been killed,” Sangakkara acknowledged like a true sportsman. 

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