Death threats and snipers? The cricket must be on

Extreme security surrounds the Australian and Pakistan teams due to play in the first Test match in Rawalpindi on Friday.

Security personnel conduct a security drill before the arrival of Pakistan and Australian cricket teams for practice at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium ahead of the first cricket Test match between Pakistan and Australia. Picture: Aamir Qureshi/AFP

If you are wondering why the Wi-Fi suddenly stops working in Pakistan’s capital city, why the traffic comes to a standstill, and why your path is blocked by more armed men than on the streets of Kyiv, then you haven’t heard that the Australian cricket team is in town.

There are snipers on the rooftops all the way from the team hotel in Islamabad to the ground in nearby Rawalpindi, soldiers with machine guns in Jeeps in the adjoining lanes, impenetrable cordons around the stadium and the team hotel to ensure that not a hair on the head of Pat Cummins or his men is harmed.

Bomb dogs sniff luggage, mirrors survey the undercarriage of vehicles, sophisticated communication jamming vehicles drive in the convoys and players are totally isolated from other guests in their five-star hotels.

Hear Peter Lalor's analysis from Islamabad on our podcast Cricket Et Cetera, available below and wherever you get your podcasts.

The Australian and Pakistan teams due to play in the first Test match in Rawalpindi on Friday have been afforded the highest level of security ever seen here.

Posters of President Imran Khan, the former cricket star, line the route and celebrate the visit by the Australians.

The country has barely hosted a Test match in recent decades as terror concerns rose at the turn of the century. The Sri Lankan side came in 2009, but despite extraordinary security the team bus was attacked and eight people died.

In September 2021, the New Zealand side was due to play a game at the same venue which will host this match, but their bus was directed to the airport on the morning of the match. Spooked by death threats, the side made the decision not to show up.

Soon after, the England side didn’t even make it to the departure lounge for their appointment.

To ensure no repeat of the same disaster, Pakistan and Australian government security agencies headed off an effort to derail this series when threats were sent to Ashton Agar’s family. The Interior Minister, Rasheed Ahmad, made a surprise appearance at training after the news broke to blame India for threats, claiming their neighbour and enemy was jealous of cricket returning to Pakistan.

The world’s No. 1 Test batter Marnus Labuschagne said that seeing the security really drove home the efforts made to ensure cricket retuned to Pakistan.

“The last couple of days, seeing the effort, seeing no one on the roads (they are cleared for the team buses), all the things they have done to look after us and make sure we are safe,” he said.

“That’s been a big realisation, to actually see that really shows the meaning that this tour has, not only for Pakistan and Australian cricket but for cricket in general.

“It’s been an enjoyable few days and I’ll be taking the opportunity to just try and hit as many balls as I can,” he said.