Bomb heightens chance of another tour cancellation
The chances of the Australian Cricket Board cancelling a second consecutive tour have increased markedly after a bomb killed 10 people outside the New Zealand team's hotel in Karachi today.
AAP
21-Jun-2008
The chances of the Australian Cricket Board cancelling a second consecutive tour have increased markedly after a bomb killed 10 people outside the New Zealand team's hotel in Karachi today.
None of the New Zealand tour party was injured but New Zealand Cricket has reacted quickly in calling off the tour and summoning its players home from Pakistan.
Australia is scheduled to tour Pakistan in September and the ACB has been monitoring the New Zealand tour as it assesses the possible risk and decides whether to proceed.
Six weeks ago, the ACB cancelled the Australian team's tour to Zimbabwe after deciding the risk was too great following political unrest in that country.
The New Zealand cricketers were preparing for the second and last match of the two-Test series when the bombing happened.
News agencies said the dead were believed to be foreign nationals and another 20 people were injured.
NZ Cricket chief executive Martin Snedden said the players, officials and travelling media were all safe after the explosion, which occurred near the team hotel.
"I have spoken to the ... chief executive of the Pakistan Cricket Board. I have conveyed to him my decision and the reasons for that."
Manager Jeff Crowe has confirmed all the touring party were safe.
Snedden said he had informed the International Cricket Council of the tour cancellation.
New Zealand Cricket had only decided to undertake the tour after receiving security assurances from the Pakistan government.
The Kiwis scrapped the original tour in September last year following the September 11 attacks on the United States and the subsequent US-led action in
Afghanistan.
Pakistan had not hosted any cricket tours between September 11 and the New Zealand tour, although Sri Lanka had played a one-off Asian Test Championship
final at Lahore in March.
NZ touring teams have cancelled two previous cricket tours due to bombings, both in Sri Lanka.
New Zealand scrapped its 1987 tour following a bomb explosion in Colombo and cancelled again in 1993 following a car bomb detonating near the team's hotel.