ICC chief defends security in Lahore: The Australian

INTERNATIONAL Cricket Council chief executive Haroon Lorgat was satisfied with the security plan for the umpires and match officials who escaped being killed during a terrorist attack in Lahore last Tuesday.

Match referee Chris Broad claimed they were "sitting ducks" during the attack and his anger was matched by Australian umpires Steve Davis and Simon Taufel, who claimed "we were promised nine (out of 10 security) and got two out of 10".

"We were satisfied with the plan," Lorgat told The Australian yesterday. "I'm waiting for reports from that incident which will either substantiate what Chris Broad is saying or perhaps give us a different view on what has transpired.

"Initially, we had interchanged with the Pakistan Cricket Board on that plan. We shared it with the match officials.

"They had provided some input into it and we had signed off on the plan."

Six policemen and the match officials' bus driver were killed while five Sri Lankan players, an assistant coach and a reserve umpire were injured when a dozen heavily armed gunmen hijacked the convoy on its way to Gaddafi stadium.

Lorgat was speaking at picturesque North Sydney Oval yesterday while watching the women's World Cup match between Australia and New Zealand, which was a world away from the rising tide of terrorism across the subcontinent.

Before the match, he stood on the field with both teams and the match officials for a minute's silence to acknowledge those who suffered in the attack.

Lorgat is waiting on a report from the ICC's anti-corruption and security unit about the incident, which will be discussed at the ICC's next board meeting on April 16.

Broad may be invited to the meeting to give his account of the issue, along with security experts.

Not surprisingly, the ICC will review its security measures for match officials in future.

"It's certainly something we're going to have to look at very carefully," Lorgat said. "It might even include ensuring we've got close protection officers with match officials in certain if not all locations. We will have to change the way we deliver the security arrangements."

He would not comment on the outrageous attack that PCB president Ijaz Butt made on Broad last week, when Butt called Broad a liar over the failure of Pakistani security.

"I don't want to be emotional about it," Lorgat said. "At a time like this, it's a very difficult period for all those who are faced with it.

"We have to be cool, we have to be correct about what we say and I'd rather wait for that report to come through to see exactly what happened on that fateful morning."

Remarkably, he defended the ICC's attempt to try to play the Champions Trophy in Pakistan last year.

Despite five countries, including Australia, refusing to attend on independent security advice, the ICC refused to move the event, which has now been postponed until later this year.

Lorgat claimed the ICC's security advice only changed early this year after the defeat of the Musharraf government at the general elections.

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