Hundreds of ticket holders fail to enter stadium

Hundreds of cricket fanatics holding valid tickets were denied entry to the first one-day international between Pakistan and England on Tuesday as the National Stadium got jam packed to its full capacity of 35,000 spectators.

In the chaos that followed, the ticket holders remained outside the ground and many who stayed in the stadium were ones who didn't have tickets.

Two mediamen were man-handled by the law enforcing agencies while there were reports of minor scruffles outside the stadium between frustrated cricket lovers and the law enforcers.

Even the legendary Hanif Mohammad was not spared from the torture when he was stopped and questioned at the main entrance before being allowed to enter the stadium. However, the 66-year-old former captain was made to park his car near the Aga Khan Hospital, about a kilometre from the main stadium building, after his parking ticket was declared unauthorized.

If the law enforcers and the PCB showed no respect and favours to men like Hanif Mohammad, the general public's hopes of getting sympathy from these two organizations was asking for too much.

Of course that didn't happen and the ticket-holders had to face the agony of waiting under the scorching sun before returning home dejected. The only thing the enthusiasts could do was to chant anti- PCB slogans.

Suleman Shah, a middle-age man, didn't hide his displeasure over the raw deal he received, when he returned saying: "Long live the PCB. Long live the PCB officials. It would have been better had I given Rs 1,200 to charity rather than buying a ticket for the match."

When the scruffle broke outside the stadium, a daughter of a selector suffered minor injuries. She was among the many to face the wrath of the law enforcers.

Inside the stadium, two journalists, including a photo journalist Zahid Husain, was beaten up by the law enforcing agencies when he tried to make his way into he media centre for transmitting pictures of the first session's play.

The journalists covering the match lodged a strong protest with the authorities but to no avail as shortly afterwards, another journalist was insulted at the other end of the stadium.

Black market rates of tickets were: Rs 1,200 ticket for Rs 3,400, Rs 800 for Rs 2,500 and Rs 30 for Rs 200.

Contrary to the claims of scouts to curb black marketing, there were no sleuths to check the activities of the touts.

The cricket lovers had started arriving at the National Stadium since noon. A visit by this correspondent around 1.00pm, 90 minutes before the start of the match, there were nearly 1,500 people waiting outside to get inside. At that stage, the law enforcers were very cooperative and helpful in guiding people to their stands.

But as the time for the match approached, and more fans showed up at the stadium the chaos started leading to the use of power and baton.