Pakistan decision wrong says Mills

DAVID HALLETT/The Press

NO GO: Officials are to discuss the Champions Trophy situation but nothing will change the stance of the NZ Cricket Players Association - the Black Caps should not go to Pakistan.

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New Zealand officials will meet next week to discuss the Champions Trophy situation but nothing will change the stance of the New Zealand Cricket Players Association - the Black Caps should not travel to Pakistan.

The International Cricket Council yesterday announced that Pakistan would keep the eight-team one-day showpiece, with players' associations from New Zealand, Australia, England and South Africa all reiterating their concerns.

Though the West Indies board is expected to back the ICC's decision, it is understood the West Indies Players Association is also against travelling to Pakistan.

With many top players, and possibly some teams, unlikely to go to Pakistan, the tournament is in danger of becoming a farce.

New Zealand Cricket would not comment till player safety and security issues had been worked through, but NZCPA boss Heath Mills was not backing down.

"I can't speak for NZC but what I can say, knowing what I know, our position won't be changing and we won't be recommending that our players travel to Pakistan," he said yesterday.

"If nothing changes, I don't see how New Zealand, England or Australia can send teams to Pakistan given the requirements they have about safe workplaces in those countries."

Mills has been privy to the same security reports the ICC used to proclaim Pakistan's ability to host a safe tournament, and he slammed the world's governing body for its lack of care.

"I'm quite comfortable in saying I don't think player safety has been the No1 priority here.

"We've been comfortable with the team going to Pakistan previously, but ... I have no comfort about the players being in Pakistan."

Mills could not go into specifics regarding the security reports because of a confidentiality agreement but said he had two main concerns: he was not confident in Pakistan's ability to implement security measures, and there had been too many recent bomb blasts.

The ICC has employed yet another taskforce, which will monitor the situation in Pakistan over the next few weeks. It is to report back on August 10 and Mills believed nobody would make any decisions before then. But when a decision is required by New Zealand, he was adamant it must be a collective one.

He put the onus firmly on NZC, and the NZCPA, to make that decision, not individual players.

"We don't think it's appropriate that this decision whether or not to tour is put on individual players.

"I know a lot of [younger] players are concerned about going but they will feel they have to go if they're forced to make a decision, because they won't feel secure in their place in the side."

The NZCPA can do nothing more but recommend the Black Caps don't tour, with the ultimate decision left to NZC.

A major factor will be whether or not NZC will face the usual $10 million fine from the ICC for a no-show. There were reports yesterday that suggested teams which did not compete in the Champions Trophy would not be punished. No fines would make it easier for teams to boycott the tournament.

"We need to get some clarity around that," Mills said.

Australian Cricketers' Association chief executive Paul Marsh strongly hinted at a boycott.

Australian Andrew Symonds has said he would not risk his safety, and other leading players, including Black Cap Jacob Oram, have voiced the same opinion.

Mills said the ICC may have underestimated the likelihood of boycotts.

"The ICC board should be making decisions in the best interests of cricket, not individual groups within it.

"This is their second biggest event and if a lot of the world's leading players aren't there, or some teams aren't there, then it's going to be another failure.

"How that could possibly be in the best interests of the ICC is beyond me."

In 2002, New Zealand had to cut short a tour of Pakistan after a bomb blast outside their hotel in Karachi killed 19 people, and a largely second-string team toured the country in 2003 after six leading players refused to go.

Mills did not want to see that happen this time, however, which could be the case if individual players were forced to make a decision.

- © Fairfax NZ News