Cricket:Australia's Andrew Symonds would not tour
Pakistan next year if he considered it was unsafe, the all-rounder
said today.
Pakistan plunged into widespread violence and political turmoil
after the assassination of political opposition leader Benazir
Bhutto on Thursday.
Cricket Australia is to visit the country to review the
security before the March tour but Symonds said he would withdraw
from the team if he did not feel safe.
"I'm not interested in going into a situation that's
dangerous, where people are getting killed and hurt. There's no
point in that, in my opinion," Symonds told Brisbane's Sunday Mail
newspaper.
"At the end of the day, it's a game of cricket. I take my
cricket very seriously and I love playing for Australia but I'm not
going to put myself in a situation where I can be harmed.
"There's no need, not for a game of cricket.
"That's how I stand at the moment. I'll be closely monitoring
things and learning more about how their country is being run from
the political side of things.
"You personally choose whether you want to play for
Australia. If you're selected, you can choose to decline the offer
of going on a tour or playing a game."
Cricket Australia said earlier this week it was too early to
make any decisions on the tour until an inspection team visited the
country in February.
Australia has not played a test in Pakistan since 1998 with
their three test tour in 2002 moved to Sri Lanka and the United
Arab Emirates because of security issues.
They are due to play three tests and five one-day
internationals, but the tour schedule has yet to be finalised.