Neutral venues a must for Pakistan to survive

Mike Coward, writing in the Australian, says Pakistan must embrace playing at neutral venues or perish from the consciousness of the international cricket community.

And this must not happen. In the Test match context, in particular, world cricket is fragile and needs Pakistan to be conspicuous and competitive. And, to this end, Australians can assist by supporting the home series with Pakistan later this year. Whether the game can survive in Pakistan, let alone prosper, with the elite players playing all home games out of the country is problematic.

Like Coward, Ron Reed has toured the country with Australia’s team. In the Herald Sun Reed says it is now the duty of the rest of the cricket family to look after their own and make sure Pakistan continues on the international scene.

Writing in the Sydney Morning Herald Peter Roebuck takes a step back and reflects. No other game had as many problems, and no other game has as many possibilities. And the miracle is not that cricket occasionally suffers setbacks, but that any international cricket is played at all.