September 23 Monday 2002
Lack of international cricket worries Waqar

COLOMBO: Pakistan captain Waqar Younis says the continuing lack of international cricket in his country is a "big disaster" for players, administrators and supporters.

Fear of terrorist activity has meant only New Zealand have toured Pakistan in the past year and that trip was cut short when a bomb exploded outside their hotel in May.

The problem has meant Pakistan are now playing scheduled home matches in neutral countries, with their latest series against Australia starting early next month in Colombo before moving onto Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates.

The absence of touring teams going to Pakistan has also hit the Pakistan Cricket Board hard through a resultant lack of potentially lucrative sponsorship deals. While Waqar understands the reasons why teams are currently opting not to visit his country, he said it did not make it any easier to take.

"If the atmosphere is not right then I don't think any team will come," he said. "But not playing at home, it's a big disaster as far as cricket is concerned. "As far as revenue is concerned it's a great loss for the country and for the cricket board.

"The crowd back home are missing cricket and we'd love to play but unfortunately we can't at the moment and it's a disadvantage to the team because we want to play at home and get some support and win at home," he added.

Waqar also hinted at the stresses and strains the current arrangements are placing on the players, who have become a nomadic team roaming from country to country without a base. From the Champions Trophy and the first test against Australia in Colombo they head to Sharjah, followed by tours of Zimbabwe and South Africa and then the World Cup.

The hectic schedule, allied to the lack of time at home, has seen senior players Wasim Akram and Saeed Anwar opt out of the Australia series and Waqar had sympathy for that decision.

"We don't really go home. I haven't seen my parents, my wife and my kid for a while," he said. "So it does get a little bit too much occasionally. "But my wife is coming soon and some of the guys have got their families here so hopefully it will get better," Waqar added.

Pakistan signed off from the Champions Trophy with a crushing nine-wicket win over the Netherlands, although the victory meant nothing in terms of the competition.

Waqar hoped the win would be a turning point for his side after recent poor results, even though it came against a side playing only its seventh match in senior cricket. On Saturday, Pakistan announced the squad for Australia series and Richard Pybus was confirmed as coach, returning for a fourth time, after the sacking of Mudassar Nazar.