Proteas threaten to skip Champions Trophy

Johannesburg, Jul 27 (UNI) The decision by the International Cricket Council (ICC) to go ahead with the Champions Trophy in pakistan has not gone down well with the South African players who are threatening to boycott the eight-nation tournament in September.

''From the players' point of view, we do have major concerns with security in Pakistan,'' skipper Graeme Smith said.

''A lot has happened in Pakistan, from a security point of view, since we were there and those are things that are worrying us. Generally, that's a full-player view. I don't know any players who don't have issues with regards to security in Pakistan,'' he added.

''There were bombings taking place in Karachi and bombings are taking place in Lahore now. Within three days (of us returning home), there was a state of emergency so we have seen how quickly things can develop.'' Smith reposed confidence in the players' association and Cricket South Africa (CSA) chief executive, Gerald Majola, to take the correct decisions on the matter.

''We have people working on that whom we trust, Tony Irish from the players' association and Gerald,'' he remarked.

''We are in constant communication with them on how we feel as players. We trust them to make the right decisions.'' UNI XC AB KP2025