Wednesday, January 9, 2002 I am surprised that Pakistan's series against West Indies has been switched to Sharjah. It will certainly be historic but the Pakistani public will be the losers. Even though crowds for Test matches are not good here, there is a still a buzz about the place when the team is playing a home series.

I cannot understand the reluctance of the West Indies board to play in Pakistan. I am in Lahore at the moment, only a few miles from the Indian border, and the atmosphere is relaxed. Of course, there was some anxiety when the words of war started but that has just about eased since the handshake between the Indian and Pakistani heads of state at the Kathmandu summit and Prime Minister Blair's visit to the region.

West Indies' decision is even more disappointing because England's one-day tour of India is still on. Surely the risk of a war is the same in India and in Pakistan? You could not even say that the situation in Afghanistan poses any serious threat now. West Indian sides have never had a major problem in Pakistan and have always been looked after. Only this week, Clive Lloyd was able to judge from his past experience of Pakistan that the situation is suitable for the tour to go ahead. Touring West Indies is not free of risk either - you would think that the West Indies board is aware of that.

In the end, I suspect that the Pakistan Cricket Board had no choice but to agree to play at a neutral venue. They could have insisted on West Indies honouring their original commitment but that would have run the risk of further financial loss. The board chose the lesser of two evils - it has become something of a fashion around here.

Sharjah has always been a home from home for Pakistan, although we do not know how the crowds will react to a Test match. You can never be 100% sure about the wicket either, but my hunch is that it will be free of grass, dry, flat, and a slow turner.

I hope that the edge has not been taken off this series. The danger is that West Indies will go through the motions just to honour their commitment to play Pakistan, and Pakistan will be honouring their commitment simply to generate some revenue. Even if that is the case, I do not expect the result to be much different from last time, when it was a 3-0 whitewash. Pakistan will still have the upper hand and should win.

Javed Miandad, Pakistan's most prolific batsman and later their coach, was talking to Kamran Abbasi.

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