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Obviously, the main item of interest is the cancellation of New Zealand's tour of Pakistan. When the announcement was made, it seemed an excessively cautious move but as events have unfolded, one really can't quarrel with the decision. What, however, can be done is not to shut the door on the tour altogether.

Should, in the next few days, there be a general improvement in the military/political climate in the region, then the tour can be revived. New Zealand did play in Sri Lanka even as the Colombo airport was under attack from the Tamil Tigers. One really can't criticise New Zealand for adopting a safe rather than sorry policy.

2001 has not been the luckiest year for Pakistan cricket. There was, first of all, the cancellation of India's tour of Pakistan for unashamedly political reasons. Apart from depriving the cricket public of both countries from watching what would have been an exciting series, it set back the Pakistan Cricket Board a pretty penny. Then India decided not to take part in the Asian Test Championship despite a firm commitment to do so and the match at Lahore had to be cancelled. Now comes the New Zealand tour.

Sport has not been affected by the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington DC except for baseball being suspended for a few days but which has resumed. But apart for the South Africa-Zimbabwe Test series, this is a quiet period for cricket. Zimbabwe has shown that it is a tough customer at home. It clearly does not have the bowling, neither the firepower of a couple of genuinely quick bowlers nor top quality spin.

In the first Test match, South Africa was able to rattle up 600 for three in double quick time and hoped to wrap up the match inside the distance. But they had reckoned without Andy Flower. His century in each innings was made in the face of adversity but it was not one of those heroic innings, "the boy who stood on the burning deck" innings.

Both his knocks were an absolute joy to watch. I hadn't seen much of him in the past but I discovered that this was a batsman of the highest class, he could link arms with Sachin Tendulkar or Mark Waugh and not be dwarfed. A pity in a way that he plays for a team like Zimbabwe where his talent tends to get lost because Zimbabwe itself does not attract too much attention.

But clearly Andy Flower is the best wicket-keeper batsman in the world and that includes Adam Gilchrist. At the same time, the South African bowling seems to have limitation and without Allan Donald can't hold a candle to the Australian attack, for example. But South Africa is a team that does not depend on individuals. It is a team that pulls together, its strength is collective and they play total cricket.

Zimbabwe may not have tested them fully but India, if it can keep its head, can give South Africa a run for its money. I think their batsmen are vulnerable to spin and that's the route for India to go. Anil Kumble has been out of cricket for a long time and will be short of match practice but he is an experienced campaigner. Both he and Harbhajan Singh will enjoy the extra bounce of the wickets but this same bounce will work against the India batsmen.

As of now, there are no plans to cancel the Sharjah tournament and nor should there be any. There is no doubt that the entire region may be in for some difficult and anxious times but one hopes that normalcy will return soon.

I also feel that the ICC should make some kind of special effort to compensate Pakistan for all the cancelled tours and matches. Pakistan stands to lose a lot of money and the loss of this money will set back its plans to develop and upgrade the infrastructure.

These are anxious times and our minds are not on sports. But the resumption of baseball was an important symbol in the United States to demonstrate that life had returned to normal.

© Dawn