It was not much more than a year ago that the worst major tournament in living memory finished in suitably dark and confusing circumstances.

What with the death of Bob Woolmer and the subsequent botched and innuendo-fuelled investigation; the locals priced out of the event; the interminable format; the failure of India and Pakistan to progress out of the group stages; and a rain-affected final featuring officials who did not know the rules, the World Cup was the International Cricket Council's (ICC) darkest hour.

Surely the Champions Trophy, no matter how second-rate, was a chance for them to seek redemption and to prove they could put on a world-class show?

Alas, no. It seems inconceivable now that the Champions Trophy will be anything other than a complete wash-out, with at least four, probably five, countries likely to send depleted sides, or pull out altogether.

Yesterday Sean Morris, head of England's Professional Cricketers' Association said: "The one thing you are never going to compromise on is security.

You may find a world-class event doesn't feature a large number of world-class players. That would be a real shame for cricket."

Australian and South African players' representatives weighed in.

"We've gone through this with a fine-tooth comb and we don't think the risk to go to Pakistan is acceptable," said Paul Marsh, Australia's player rep.

His counterpart in South Africa, Tony Irish, said: "The South African team are very disappointed with [the] decision and remain extremely concerned about safety and security in Pakistan."

Nobody, perhaps, has been as strident as Heath Mills, New Zealand's player association manager.

"They [the ICC] are clearly not making decisions that are in the best interests of the game. They are making decisions on a political basis," he told the Herald on Sunday.

"In terms of ICC events, this could well be the second abject failure in a row and demonstrates once and for all that under this structure, we are not going to get decisions made in the best interests of cricket and I think that's really sad."

This could be construed merely as FICA, the federation of players' associations, flexing their muscles. When they met recently in Austin, Texas, the consistent theme of the meeting was their dissatisfaction at the game's governance. But posturing or not, having a tournament with most of your best players missing is no advertisement for cricket.