Much ado about South Africa's departure

Forget the bomb, the perceived threat to security and the kith and kin concerned for their husbands, fathers and brothers. Elmo Rodrigopulle in The Daily News tells us why he thinks South Africa were unjustified in pulling out of the Untitech Cup and what he feels were the real reasons behind the departure.

One cannot understand the South Africans indecent hurry to skip the tournament, considering the fact the Interim Committee, even bent backwards to promise them the best of security.

Osman Samiuddin, Cricinfo's Pakistan editor, offers a different point of view.

Any criticism of South Africa's decision should also be tempered, to an extent, by the understanding that safety is a very personal concept. They are not used to such incidents on as regular a scale and thus likely to react differently.