Cricket in South Asia at stake : Sohail Tanvir

Pakistani cricketers Kamran Akmal and Sohail Tanvir fear the Mumbai terror attack may end up making the entire South Asian region a pariah in international cricket.

Both players returned home early on Saturday morning from Mumbai via Bahrain insisting they were relieved to be back home after spending some terrifying moments in Mumbai.

"If things continue like this I don't see many teams being willing to come and play in our region. There is an acute need to face this problem jointly by the affected countries," Tanvir said at the airport.

"What happened is very sad and needs to be condemned. But the incident also shows that Pakistan is not the only country in this region facing problems from terrorism," he added.

Tanvir said Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka were all affected by terrorism and they needed to have a common strategy to deal with it or else cricket activities would be badly affected in the region.

"Until now teams were avoiding Pakistan and Sri Lanka because of security situation, but now it is sad that India could also face same problems. This would be really bad for cricketers as India is the main hub of cricket in the world," he said.

Akmal echoed the view insisting that countries in the region must have a common plan to battle terrorism so that cricket activities can continue.

"Life has to go on. But we also need to have a joint strategy to convince teams it is safe to play in Pakistan, Sri Lanka or India," he said.

The two Pakistani players were in Mumbai for the Champions League tournament when the terror attacks took place and both described the events as the worst of their life.

"We were confined to our rooms and kept on receiving calls and messages from our worried relatives and friends. It was very scary knowing what was going on and we just wanted to return home as soon as possible," Kamran said.

The wicketkeeper felt that although the tragedy in Mumbai cast a shadow over India's scheduled tour to Pakistan but the series needed to be held on schedule.

India is scheduled to visit Pakistan from January 4 to play a full Test series but with diplomatic relations already souring between the two countries after the Mumbai attacks, Pakistan Cricket Board officials admit the situation is not very good and chances of the series now taking place are slim.

China considers ditching F1 race

China is considering ditching its loss-making Formula One Grand Prix, according to a senior race official.

Qiu Weichang, deputy director of the Shanghai Administration of Sports, told AFP a decision on the future of the event would be announced in 2009.

"We're doing the assessment. By next year, we should be able to give you the answer," Qiu is reported to have said.

Qiu, who appeared cool on the idea of a night race, added that organisers "would like at least to break even".

Shanghai, China's biggest city, spent $240m (£161m) building a track suitable for F1 and has hosted a Grand Prix since 2004.

It has a contract with F1 until 2010 and is said by F1 insiders to pay about $50m (£34m) annually for the race.

But the event has not proved popular with local people and attendances have been poor - even with some spectators being transported in specifically to give the appearance of a fuller venue.

The event has been lucrative for F1 commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone, who is believed to charge China some of the highest fees to host a race.

China is one of a string of locations which have joined the F1 circuit at a heavy cost in recent years in an attempt to boost their global image, joining the likes of Malaysia, Bahrain and Singapore on the calendar.

With the exception of Singapore, which held its inaugural Grand Prix as a night race in September, all have failed to capture widespread interest among locals.

Qiu said: "We want to create a win-win situation, for our side and for Bernie [Ecclestone] and the F1 organisers as well.

"If this is something we can do, and our co-operation is very happy and smooth, we will consider it.

"Of course we would like at least to break even. But there are two factors - one is the assessment; the other part is the win-win situation that we can create."

Asia is a growth area for F1. Abu Dhabi is to host its first race in 2009, with South Korea and India scheduled to follow suit in 2010 and 2011.

Ecclestone is keen for locations in the eastern hemisphere to hold their races as late in the day as possible in order to make the start time more attractive for F1's core audience in western Europe.

But asked about the idea of night racing, Qiu said: "In Singapore... holding the event at night is a good way to attract tourists to a small country.

"Singapore is hosting this event in their own unique way but we have our own situation."

Qiu said that the Grand Prix had succeeded in creating "this huge wave of car fever, so in that sense it is good news".

He said the circuit would continue to exist if the Grand Prix dropped because it was already in use for most of the year by car clubs, who hosted private driving sessions.

China has already ditched its MotoGP race, which was also held at Shanghai.

And in January, the head of the track, Yu Zhifei, who helped bring F1 to China, was jailed on corruption charges.

Bahrain Snooker Championship draw

SECOND ROUND (best of nine frames)

bye - Dominic Dale (Wal)

Matthew Stevens (Wal) 4-5 Ryan Day (Wal)

Robert Milkins (Eng) v Michael Holt (Eng)

Barry Pinches (Eng) v Stephen Hendry (Sco)

Mike Dunn (Eng) v Barry Hawkins (Eng)

Mark Allen (NI) 5-2 Michael Judge (Ire)

Neil Robertson (Aus) v Stephen Lee (Eng)

Joe Perry (Eng) 0-5 Stephen Maguire (Sco)


FIRST ROUND (best of nine frames)

Steve Davis (Eng) - bye

Marco Fu (HK) 3-5 Dominic Dale (Wal)

Matthew Stevens (Wal) 5-0 Stuart Bingham (Eng)

Ryan Day (Wal) 5-2 Dave Harold (Eng)

Peter Ebdon (Eng) 3-5 Robert Milkins (Eng)

Jamie Cope (Eng) 3-5 Michael Holt (Eng)

Graeme Dott (Sco) 3-5 Barry Pinches (Eng)

Stephen Hendry (Sco) 5-3 Ricky Walden (Eng)

Shaun Murphy (Eng) 4-5 Mike Dunn (Eng)

Ken Doherty (Ire) 3-5 Barry Hawkins (Eng)

Mark Allen (NI) 5-1 Judd Trump (Eng)

Ali Carter (Eng) 3-5 Michael Judge (Ire)

Neil Robertson (Aus) 5-4 Marcus Campbell (Sco)

Mark King (Eng) 3-5 Stephen Lee (Eng)

Joe Perry (Eng) 5-1 Rod Lawler (Eng)

Stephen Maguire (Sco) 5-3 Mark Davis (Eng)


WILDCARD ROUND (best of nine frames)

Robert Milkins (Eng) 5-1 Ahmed Saif (Bhr)

Barry Pinches (Eng) 5-1 Ahmed Goulam (Bhr)

Mike Dunn (Eng) 5-0 Ahmed Abdulla Asiry (Bhr)

Marcus Campbell (Sco) 5-0 Ahmed Al-Khusaibi (Bhr)

Rod Lawler (Eng) 5-1 Isa Ali Al-Hashmi (Bhr)

Mark Davis (Eng) 5-0 Habib Subah Habib (Bhr)