New Zealand forced to play another waiting game

New Zealand might be third on the Test rankings, but when it comes to playing the diplomatic waiting game, they are away out in front. And they face another two-month match in their lead-up to the tour of Pakistan.

South Africa's decision to pull out of their Pakistan tour has immediate implications for New Zealand who have been more affected by bomb-disrupted tours than any of the cricket-playing nations. New Zealand are due to be the next side to tour Pakistan, starting on November 21 at the end of their tour of India.

Pakistan, deprived of international cricket against all but Bangladesh, since the May bombing which ended New Zealand's tour of 2002, is playing all the cards it can in order to ensure that it gets some cricket in front of its large core of cricket fans. That is hardly surprising, and it is difficult to see the International Cricket Council not responding to Pakistan's plea that South Africa take part in the tour.

Pakistan represents such a significant place in the world game, its players are among the most skilful in the world, and they always bring an element of excitement in their play. Their bowling resources in recent times have been among the most fabulous in the game's history. Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Saqlain Mushtaq, Shoaib Akhtar and Mushtaq Ahmed have been superb servants of the game, while the future threat is represented by Mohammad Sami.

Players of their competitiveness have to be exposed to their own fans and are vital to the continued health of cricket in Pakistan. In light of the latest events New Zealand have said they will continue to review the security situation in Pakistan. They had gained a concession to their reasonable request not to play in Karachi on their tour.

Martin Snedden, the chief executive of New Zealand Cricket, who has been in India for an ICC management meeting, said: "We will continue to work through our usual pre-tour safety and security checks and will continue to monitor the security situation in Pakistan in the lead-up to the Black Caps tour."

New Zealand's return is hugely significant for Pakistan authorities. As the side forced to leave their tour on the scheduled first day of their second Test last year was supposed to start in Karachi as the result of a devastating bomb blast outside their hotel, their return is symbolic of a return to normality and representative of recovered stability in Pakistan.

South Africa were going to be there before New Zealand, and may still be if revised tour changes are accepted by the South African authorities. But with New Zealand in the immediate vicinity during their Indian tour, there has to be hope that the New Zealanders can complete their touring obligation.

The implications for not touring are much more serious now. The Asian Cricket Council has been brought into the South African argument in a bid to ensure solidarity among the Asian nations in the face of refusals to tour. Those refusals would be met by a counter refusal to tour by all the member nations of the ACC.

The situation has immediate consequences for New Zealand, even without the ACC involvement. A failure to tour Pakistan could be reflected in a non-return tour at Christmas-New Year by Pakistan.

Diplomacy has become as much a part of the cricket requirements in New Zealand as dealing with players' unions, new governance, development requirements and financial analysis. And some careful consideration will be assured in the forthcoming weeks.