South Africa are going home

The South African cricket team have decided to fly home following the August 14 bomb attack in Colombo, in spite of assurances from the cricket board that they would be afforded presidential-level security. It's a puzzling decision, not least because the target of that attack was the Pakistani High Commissioner and his convoy. One also wonders whether the South Africans would have pulled out in a similar situation if they had been touring England, New Zealand or Australia, as Osman Samiuddin at Cricinfo points out. The cricketing world does seem to be firmly divided into two blocs - Asia on one side, and the traditional powers of Australia, England, South Africa and New Zealand on the other (although New Zealand do not have a strong tradition in cricket, it's clear where their loyalties lie). England have in the past expressed concerns about touring India, Australia forfeited their fixtures in Sri Lanka during the 1996 World Cup and New Zealand famously refused to play in Kenya during the 2003 World Cup on the grounds of security concerns. What really surprises me is that the South Africans feel unsafe in Colombo, with tight security and personal guards round the clock, but are more than happy to return to Johannesburg, where walking down the wrong street could get you shot. Just ask Andrew Hall.

Meanwhile, the Indian players, no strangers to the threat of terrorist attacks, will stay in Sri Lanka to contest a three-match series.