Still It's Too Early to Come Pakistan - - David Richardson, ICC General Manager (Cricket), Urges to Bloster Domestic Cricket Structure

KARACHI: Pakistan should work on bolstering its domestic cricket structure instead of just waiting for the international sport to return to the country, a senior International Cricket Council (ICC) official said on Thursday.

David Richardson, ICC General Manager (Cricket), told reporters on his arrival here that talks of international cricket returning to Pakistan are still too premature.

“It’s pointless to talk about bringing back international cricket to Pakistan at this point in time,” said Richardson.

“It might take years for international activity to resume here but that doesn’t mean the game can’t progress here. I think that Pakistan should take steps to strengthen its domestic cricket structure because that’s the way it can keep the game going,” he added.

Pakistan has not hosted any international cricket matches on home soil since March 2009 when Sri Lankan cricketers were ambushed by terrorists in Lahore.

Since then, Pakistan has become a no-go zone for international sports persons.

Pakistan has also lost its status as one of the co-host of World Cup 2011 which will be played in Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka from February 19-April 2.

For a change, however, the country witnessed some high-profile cricketing action on Thursday when the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final began here at the National Stadium featuring two of the country’s top domestic teams — PIA and Habib Bank (HBL).

The fact that the match is being played under lights making it the first ever first-class day-night affair in Pakistan, gives added importance to the finale. It is also the first time that orange balls are being used in a first-class match in the country.

Richardsons’ prime reason to be in Karachi is to witness the match and see whether it’s feasible to conduct the game’s longest format in limited-overs style.

The ICC is mulling over the option to allow day-night Tests in the near future and Richardson, being one of the senior officials on the project, wanted to see whether the move is successful in Pakistan. “I’m here to see whether using an orange balls works,” he said.