Pakistan have binned their scheduled press conference the night before Wednesday’s must-win Asia Cup match against the UAE, keeping the dispute over match referee Andy Pycroft firmly in the spotlight.
Team officials did not give a formal reason for pulling the plug, yet people close to the squad say the decision is tied to Pycroft’s continued presence at the tournament. The former Zimbabwe captain is still down to oversee the Sharjah fixture despite a written request from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for him to be stood down.
The saga began after Sunday’s defeat to India, when the two captains failed to shake hands at either the toss or the end of the game. The PCB insists Pycroft told Salman Ali Agha handshakes were off the table, a stance they say cuts across the Marylebone Cricket Club’s Laws and, perhaps more importantly, the spirit of the thing.
Aga skipped the post-match presentation in protest, though head coach Mike Hesson did appear in front of reporters. The board later wrote to ICC general manager Wasim Khan accusing Pycroft of breaching protocol and asking that he be removed from the remainder of the competition.
No public response has come from Dubai, and one ICC administrator suggested privately that agreeing to the request would create a tricky precedent. For now Pycroft stays on the rota, meaning he is due to referee Wednesday’s game in Sharjah – a straight shoot-out, loser goes home.
The PCB has also been wrestling with suggestions – again, nothing on the record – that Pakistan might even quit the event if their demand is ignored. Chairman Mohsin Naqvi has taken aim at both Pycroft and the Indian team in recent days but has stopped short of threatening a walk-out in public.
Mixed messages have floated around ever since. While practice (or practise, depending who you ask) went ahead under lights on Tuesday evening, the usual pre-match media slot was first pushed back, then cancelled altogether. Players headed straight from the bus to the nets, leaving the travelling press pack milling about in the car park.
Aakash Chopra, watching from a distance on TV, felt Pakistan’s problems run deeper than administrative scuffles. “Pakistan looked clueless against spin,” he said on his YouTube show, pointing to a middle-over collapse that effectively settled Sunday’s derby long before the final handshake (or lack of one).
That issue could come roaring back if Pakistan make Thursday’s Super Four phase, where another clash with India looms on 21 September in Dubai. First, though, they have to deal with a UAE side who pushed Sri Lanka hard earlier in the week and fancy a crack at a vulnerable opponent.
The ICC, consistent with its policy of keeping schtum on match-official matters, has offered no clarity on what Pycroft did or did not say at the toss. He is one of two referees on duty in the Emirates – Richie Richardson is the other – and took charge of Monday’s Hong Kong v Sri Lanka tie without incident.
Sunday’s match was already carrying extra emotional freight. It was the rivals’ first meeting since a flare-up across the Line of Control in May and went ahead only after New Delhi confirmed it would permit multi-team encounters while still blocking bilateral tours. Against that backdrop a missed handshake was always likely to travel fast.
If Pakistan do progress, organisers may face the same refereeing conundrum all over again. For now the priority, at least on paper, is piling up two points against the UAE and pushing the politics to one side.
Team staff spoke off the record about trying to “park the noise”, but it is clear the episode has left players edgy in the build-up. There is also quiet concern that, should the side stumble on Wednesday, blame will be tossed about with even more enthusiasm.
The on-field permutation is simple: win and they move on, lose and the Asia Cup is over. Either way, the fallout around Pycroft is unlikely to disappear in a hurry.
