This may seem a peculiar thing to say after what happened in Lahore on Tuesday but the cricket community across the world should not turn its back on Pakistan, they deserve our sympathy and support.

First and foremost what great diplomacy and professionalism the Sri Lanka players demonstrated after they came under such a horrific rocket-propelled terrorist attack. Nobody would have blamed them had they reacted with sheer anger and bitterness towards Pakistan and its failure to prevent this unprecedented attack on a cricket team.

Had they reacted in that manner they probably wouldn’t have been measured in their criticism but they would certainly have been justified after being subjected to such a deplorable incident from cowardly terrorists who targeted a sports team that was trying to prove to the world that Pakistan was a safe country in which to tour. Pakistan security lapses also failed them, which is unforgivable.  

But in showing their unity to the people of Pakistan and refusing to hold this against Pakistan as a country, the Sri Lanka team probably put themselves forward as the most well deserving people of a Nobel Peace Prize. Irresponsible public comment at such volatile occasions when emotions are running high can spark further incident but this did not happen. I applaud the Sri Lanka team and outgoing captain Mahela Jayawardene for this.

Understandably there is going to be huge concern after this incident about the immediate future for international cricket in Pakistan. But looking at the bigger picture, what right does any country really have to say ‘let’s banish international cricket from Pakistan?’ When, that is, the July 7 bombs exploded in London when Australia were preparing for an Ashes series there; when about 170 people were killed in Mumbai last year with the England team in the country; and when civil war continues to rumble on in Sri Lanka? I could go on.

What should we do in the long term, limit the ICC schedule to matches in New Zealand and the Caribbean, and sharing a few matches with offshore venues like the UAE, Malaysia and Canada? Although I am in favour of spreading cricket to offshore venues, we should continue to find a way of ensuring terrorism does not reduce a sporting competition like Test cricket, more than 100 years old, to an event unworthy of being a global spectacle.

Like former Pakistan captain and articulate pundit Ramiz Raja said, Pakistan is not a minnow nation or one that has just entered the cricketing arena. It is a major player in the world, the 1992 World Cup winner, which has given the sport many icons and it deserves respect accordingly during its hour of need.

There are not many spokespeople willing to speak up for Pakistan at the moment but anyone who has visited the country, in normal circumstances, will know that the people are as hospitable as any in the world, that its passion for cricket is as fervent as anywhere else, that its culture demands cricket like we require oxygen and that without top-level cricket for any decent length of time, then Pakistan’s cricket culture could eventually decay without the exposure to quality live competition when its heroes inspire generations to come.

I have visited Pakistan four times and on each occasion it was in the post-September 11 landscape when security and safety for white Western people like myself was questioned. Maybe some will accuse me of being naïve or unreasonably cool about visiting Pakistan but I would go there tomorrow to report on a match or interview players. I accept that Sri Lanka players and ICC match officials like Chris Broad and Simon Taufel - who had to dive for their lives in Lahore - would think differently. Maybe I would had I experienced what they did. 

But most of our countries have suffered a hit at some point - whether from war or civil unrest. If your nation seems bullet-proof, can you be sure that will be the case forever? We need to be supportive to Pakistan and help them flourish during one of their darkest hours. Not let them suffocate as the world chokes off its ties with them. There has to be dialogue about progress, even if it is not right away.

Richard Sydenham is Managing Editor of Bigstarcricket.com

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