CricInfo Home
News Home

NEWS FOCUS
Rsa in Pak
NZ in India
Zim in Aus

Domestic
Other Series

The stone-throwing crowd at Karachi's National Stadium that led to a 20-minute stoppage in the first One-Day International between Pakistan and New Zealand Sunday may well have set the tone for things to come.

Rawalpindi which hosts the Black Caps on April 24 in the day- night game at the Rawalpindi Stadium does not have a good reputation - unruly crowds have disrupted international matches at this venue. Riot police resorting to baton charge and the use of tear gas, have almost always been part of the show.

Firing of tear gas shells by the police to keep away the rampaging fans, most of whom turn up at the stadium without valid tickets, has led to play being disrupted as the effects of the gas are also felt inside the venue. But if the SP City, Sabir Ahmed, in charge of security at the stadium is to be believed, hooliganism this time wouldn't be tolerated. "The venue will be heavily guarded and we will also deploy a large contingent of plainclothes policemen so that any trouble-maker can be quickly identified and arrested," he had said.

However, this is easier said than done. The cricket starved fans of Rawalpindi and Islamabad have had to do without international cricket for more than a year now. And now that a day-night game is being played in their own backyard, a large number of them would be keen to get in, most of them at all costs.

It is the crowd with this set of mentality that creates trouble and Sabir is fully aware of that. "The problem is that once all the seats are occupied, the spectators who gather outside and are without tickets, are the one who create trouble." And trouble, in and outside the Rawalpindi Stadium, could dent Pakistan's chances of hosting Australia who are due to tour this fall.

Sabir has already warned fans not to come to the stadium if they are not in possession of valid tickets, purchased only from branches of Allied Bank which are authorized to sell them.

It is hoped though that the fans here would be on their best behavior during the match. It is a good opportunity for them to make amends for their bad behavior of the past.

© Dawn