David Leggat: Sport matters but not this much

Pakistan's Younis Khan said playing the fourth ODI against New Zealand would be very difficult. Photo / Getty

Younis Khan hails from Mardan, about 45 minutes drive from Peshawar, the site of the bloody massacre in Pakistan today.

So be certain this was even more personal to this most admired of Pakistani cricketers than it would be to many of his teammates preparing for the fourth ODI against New Zealand in far-off Abu Dhabi which was due to start late tonight (NZT), but will almost certainly now be delayed, or cancelled.

And that's why his call to call the game off carries an extra resonance. It is his home patch, as it is for his teammates, classy seamer Umar Gul and test legspinner Yasir Shah, and three of the all-time squash greats, Hashim, Jahangir and Jansher Khan.

Younis is among Pakistan's finest all-time batsmen, scorer of 28 centuries, more than any other Pakistani, over 96 tests and boasting an outstanding average of 53.37.

None of which matters when set aside events at the school in Peshawar where 132 children and nine teachers were slaughtered at the hands of the Taliban.

Peshawar sits roughly equidistant from the Afghanistan border as it does from Younis' Mardan in the North West Frontier Pakhunkhwa province. It's tough territory which breeds a warrior spirit, and Younis exemplifies it.

No cause is lost while he is at the crease. If he was a New Zealander, he would be regarded as a man of considerable mana, for more than just his sporting talent, and so expect his call to be heeded.

"It is a national tragedy and a barbaric act," Younis said today. "Playing the match is going to be very difficult. How do you play a match when your spirit is not in the game?"
Sport matters, but not this much.

New Zealand have two ODIs left in the series. They may both be rubbed out.

The clock is ticking for New Zealand, who are due home next week to prepare for the first test against Sri Lanka starting in Christchurch on Boxing Day.

One option might be to add an extra ODI to the two Pakistan will play in Wellington and Napier at the end of January.

Whatever. Just as New Zealand didn't want to take part in the third test in Sharjah in the wake of Phillip Hughes' death, their minds elsewhere, so now Pakistan's wishes should be respected.

Younis' words should strike a chord with the New Zealanders. Indeed, this tragedy would strike perhaps even harder than Hughes' death. These are his people.
It's time to come home.