Former England batsman and current ICC official Chris Broad has spoken about being caught up in the terrorist attack in Lahore.
ICC official talks of terrifying ordeal in Lahore
Former England batsman and current ICC match referee Chris Broad has spoken of the terror he and his fellow officials felt as they came under attack in Lahore.
The Sri Lanka cricket team bus was fired upon by gunmen just outside the Gadaffi Stadium as they arrived for the third day of the second Test with Pakistan, and the match officials were also caught up in the violence.
As the Sri Lanka bus roared off into the stadium under attack, Broad and the match umpires and officials were stranded outside the stadium.
The driver of the bus they were in was killed in the shooting, and their vehicle was left stranded outside the stadium as bullets rained down on them.
Fourth official Ahsan Raza was shot in the back and is currently in a critical condition in hospital, and the whole ordeal was a terrifying experience for the former England international.
Gunfire
"It is very difficult to put it into words," said Broad. "There were five of us in the back of van all lying on floor just listening to the crack of bullets going on around us and hitting the van. Every time you heard a crack you just thought 'this bullet's for me'.
"We were unaware of what was going on outside the bus, just that our van was hit several times.
"Fortunately for myself, Simon Taufel, Steve Davis, Peter Manuel and Nadeem Ghauri (the third umpire) none of the bullets hit us. Unfortunately for Ahsan Raza, for Abdul Sami, our liaison officer, both got hit.
"The terrorists had also killed our driver so we were stranded. Clearly the terrorists targeted the drivers to try and get the bus stationary. We were sitting ducks."
Broad had raised his concerns about security in Pakistan and he fears now that international cricket will not return to the country for a very long time to come.
Assurances
"I got assurances from the Pakistan Cricket Board that security would be as tight as it was for the one-day series - and I had no issues during the one-day series, it all went off according to plan - and once I got those assurances you trust them in this part of the world," he added.
"This is an unthinkable thing to have happened.
"It is just a major tragedy for the world of sport and Pakistan itself because I can't see cricket going back there, certainly in the distant future.
"I'm sure there will be a lot of discussions in the next two or three days. A lot of soul-searching by individuals - players and officials - is going to have to happen over the next few weeks.
"I feel for the cricket-loving public of this part of the world."
