da fazobetai： The South African team has decided to remain in Sri Lanka till anindependent security evaluation decides whether it’s safe for them to stayor not.
Dileep Premachandran in Colombo15-Aug-2006
Gerald Majola, chief executive of Cricket South Africa, was due to flyto Sri Lanka at the earliest to review the situation © Getty Images
The South African team has decided to remain in Sri Lanka till anindependent security evaluation judges whether it’s safe for them to stayor not.Following yesterday’s bomb blast in the heart of Colombo, barely 2 kms from where they were staying, the South Africans had wanted to pull out of the triangular series and head home. They were awaiting former ICC approval in this regard, when pressure from different quarters forced them to review their decision.Brian Basson, Cricket South Africa’s Cricket Affair’s General Managersaid today: “Police and security officials have assured us that the highestlevels of security in Sri Lanka are now in place to ensure the safety ofthe Proteas.”We have also been advised by the South African Commission HighCommissioner in Colombo that all indications are that the team and cricketin general do not appear to be targets in the general unrest in Sri Lanka.The safety of the team has been paramount in all our deliberations and wehave been assured that upgraded security levels for the team willachieve this.Under these circumstances the team will remain in Sri Lanka while theupgraded security measures are being evaluated.”Basson added that the opening match of the tournament between South Africa and Sri Lanka, which was scheduled for Tuesday but had to be postponed following the bomb blast,will now be played as the sixth and final match of the league on August29. The finals will be held on September 2.The South Africans are due to play their first match against India onSaturday should a decision to stay in Sri Lanka be taken.Meanwhile, Gerald Majola, chief executive of Cricket South Africa, was due to flyto Sri Lanka at the earliest to discuss the situation with Sri Lankan andIndian officials, and also his own players.The South Africans had been expected to head back home, with the consentof their board, but it now emerges that pressure from the South Africangovernment has forced a rethink. According to sources close to the team,Sri Lanka Cricket had asked Sharad Pawar, the BCCI president who is also aunion cabinet minister in India, to contact the South African governmentand urge them to reconsider the decision to abandon the tour.The news hasn’t gone down well with the players, who were wandering aroundColombo’s upmarket shopping arcades with the air of demobbed men. Thesecurity consultants travelling with the team have apparently said thatthe situation is such that the team’s safety cannot be guaranteed, and thechange of heart from their own government – even as attempts were beingmade to find tickets for everyone on the same flight home – has causedmuch resentment.It’s understood that the senior players are those most keen to leave, withsome suggesting that they would hop on a plane even if their cricket boardwent back on its earlier stance and asked them to play. The situation isslightly different with the younger bunch, many of whom see the tournamentas an opportunity to make an impact with several key members of the sideabsent injured.The players’ association in South Africa is sure to become involved in anydiscussion, with Graeme Smith – captain since 2003 – supporting his team’swish to return home. The South Africans may also point to a recentfootball precedent to bolster their case. Liverpool were scheduled to playa Champions League qualifier against Maccabi Haifa on August 22, but UEFA,the European game’s governing body, has since moved the game from Israelto Kiev in the Ukraine after the team’s players, management and boardflat-out refused to travel to West Asia.