Mumbai attacks could have wider ramifications

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - Any disruption to cricket in India in the wake of the terror attacks in Mumbai will have widespread implications for the international game, according to former Australia captain Steve Waugh.

"The danger to cricket is that the game needs India and any long-term interruption will have major ramifications," Waugh, a frequent visitor to India whose foundation has a long association with a charity for children of leprosy patients, wrote in an Australian newspaper column Saturday.

"At present we have Pakistan cricket crippled by the threat of terrorism, Sri Lanka regularly blighted by a civil war and Zimbabwe mismanaged by corrupt administrators and government.

"The game is on the verge of a crisis and clear, concise thinking will be required from the various cricketing bodies to make sure that the correct decisions are made." The International Cricket Council has 10 full test members - four of those are in South Asia. Another, Zimbabwe, is currently suspended from test-match cricket due to political turmoil.

Waugh said that when he was Australia captain, he often defied security briefing advice and took strolls down the streets "to see the real India and capture it through my lens to give me a sense of freedom and reality."

"Sadly now this sense of innocence has been extinguished and touring life for future cricket teams will revolve around club sandwiches and in-house movies," he said.

However, Waugh was confident the coordinated terror attacks that claimed at least 195 lives in India's financial hub this week would cause only a brief respite in cricket in India.

"My gut feeling is that cricket will see an interruption in the short term but business will resume as normal shortly afterwards," Waugh said.

"The game of cricket in India is a way of life and a symbol of hope and, as such, it has the ability to restore faith and instill confidence."

Waugh said the abandonment of a limited-overs series by England and postponement of the Twenty20 Champions League, featuring the top provincial teams from five countries, were short-term reactions.

"Perversely, after such a major incident India will probably be a much safer place to be than previously, for security will reach unprecedented levels at airports, five-star hotels and places where people congregate," Waugh said. "Time is a great healer but ...

life on the subcontinent will never be the same. The need for security will be paramount and this will affect all facets of life." The Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai, a regular stop for international players on cricket tours to India, was one of the two luxury hotels targeted by extremists in this week's attacks. Western hostages were taken and foreigners among those killed.The England team stayed there during the limited-overs series and was due to return to the hotel on Dec. 16, ahead of the second test against India at Mumbai. The second test was subsequently switched to Chennai and although England has confirmed the test series will go ahead, national captain Kevin Pietersen said no players would be forced into touring India if they still had security concerns.