BBC SPORT | CRICKET | Asia flexes cricketing muscles

Asia's four Test nations have joined hands in a show of strength against the game's governing body, saying the region's sentiments are not being respected.

The Asian Cricket Council (ACC), which met in Sharjah over the weekend, resolved to support India's stand against the International Cricket Council (ICC) over its review of match referees.

And it was also announced that any country refusing to tour the Indian sub-continent would be boycotted by India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

The ICC should either give us compensation, or the four Test nations from Asia will boycott New Zealand

ACC head
Tauqir Zia

India wants a referees commission meeting, convened in the wake of the Mike Denness affair, to be put on hold until the issue has been discussed at the ICC's executive board meeting in Cape Town in March.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was unhappy at the composition of the commission, probing penalties imposed by Denness on six Indian players in South Africa last year.

The ICC rejected the names proposed by India, and instead appointed Justice P. Sachs of South Africa, Andrew Hilditch of Australia and Majid Khan of Pakistan.

And it announced the trio would meet as planned on 23 February, presenting a report to the executive board meeting.

But, with the four Asian votes pledged in favour of India, the ACC needs just one more vote among the remaining six Test-playing nations to jettison any ICC ruling.

And news agency AFP quoted an anonymous source as saying that Zimbabwe, South Africa and the West Indies would take Asia's side.

New Zealand warning

Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Tauqir Zia, who also heads the ACC, said that compensation would be demanded from any country refusing to tour Asia.

"What we want from the ICC is that there should be some form of compensation - around a million dollars - to the host country if a team declines to play there," Zia said.

The situation in Pakistan is no different now than it was on 11 September

ACC head
Tauqir Zia

"If the ICC does not accept this recommendation, the four Test-playing nations of Asia will automatically refuse either to visit or host that country."

The ICC resolved in October to fine any country that pulled out of a tour without good reason but also allowed series to be played at neutral venues if security was felt to be a problem.

West Indies opted for that route for the recent two-Test series with Pakistan.

But Zia said that financial concerns, rather than safety fears were the motivating factor.

And he warned that there would be trouble for New Zealand if it refused to reschedule for April the tour that was postponed following the September terrorist attacks in the USA.

"The West Indies could easily have played in Pakistan," Zia said.

PCB chairman Tauqir Zia
Zia says money is behind sides' reluctance to tour
"In fact, even New Zealand should have stuck to their scheduled tour of Pakistan last October [because] the situation in Pakistan is no different now than it was on 11 September."

Zia also stressed that he would not support any plans for New Zealand to play Pakistan at a neutral venue.

"If they refuse to come, the ICC should either give us compensation, or the four Test nations from Asia will boycott New Zealand," he said.

"Teams are refusing to tour because they do not get appearance money from the hosts, like in the past, and this is not good for the game."

Government decision

The united stand by Asian cricket nations comes despite the Indian government's repeated refusal to allow its national team to play in Pakistan because of the political dispute over Kashmir.

"That India is not allowed to play against Pakistan is a cause of worry," Zia said.

"The matter, however, is out of the Indian board's hands since it is a government decision and the ACC appreciates the reasons leading to this impasse.

"We are confident India and Pakistan will play each other in the near future, and the boards of these two countries are solidly behind each other."


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