Pakistani journalist demands apology from Atherton

Another ghost from the past returned to haunt the England cricket tour of Pakistan on Tuesday when a local sports journalist threatened legal action against Michael Atherton over a 1996 insult.

Journalist Asghar Ali said he wanted to give former England captain Atherton a "last chance" to write a public apology for the insult made at a press conference at Rawalpindi during the sixth World Cup.

Already angry after England's defeat by South Africa, Atherton tried to understand Ali's question in broken English before saying: "Can someone get this buffoon out of here?"

Ali told AFP that unless Atherton, who is in the Test side for the current tour, wrote an apology within 10 days he would take the matter to court.

He said the insult had ruined his life and tainted his reputation as a journalist.

"My personal life, my professional life and my financial life has been affected," he said, adding that his fiance at the time had called off the marriage because she "did not want to be the wife of a 'buffoon'."

Ali, a university graduate and vice-president of the Pakistan Sports Journalists' Association, said he was writing a book about the incident, entitled "Buffoon: me or you".

"I have talked to many international cricket captains including Hansie Cronje and (Arjuna) Ranatunga about Atherton and their comments are in this book," he said. "I want to publish the book when the matter is completed."

The incident drew protests at the time from the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists. England's team manager apologised in a written statement but Atherton did not.

Before a ball has been bowled, the first England tour of Pakistan in 13 years is already struggling to bury past bitterness and off-field problems.

Cricket-mad locals have not forgotton the heated verbal exchange between then England captain Mike Gatting and Pakistani umpire Shakoor Rana during the last England tour here in 1987, which almost scuppered the series.

Match-fixing allegations have also marred preparations for the latest tour, with England and Wales Cricket Board supremo Lord MacLaurin suggesting six Pakistani players should be banned from the Test series.

The tour includes three limited over internationals, three Tests and as many side games. The first one-day international is set for October 24 in Karachi.

Mail Cricket Editor