"Do You Feel Safe Here...?"

Knowles on his Travels again...

It is the question most frequently asked of the intrepid traveller and ‘Manners-on-Cricket’ guest columnist, Jonathan Knowles, since his arrival in Pakistan to watch four of the group games in the Champions Trophy. The second most common request is for a selfie, as you can see below…

Regular readers of this column will recall Jonathan’s excellent posts from his tour to Bangladesh to watch South Africa’s bid to win six consecutive Tests in order to qualify for the WTC final. Now he’s visiting Rawalpindi and Lahore to see if they can win their first ICC tournament since the inaugural Champions Trophy in 1998.

“I get the distinct impression from the many people I have met so far that they hate their country’s reputation for being ‘dangerous,’ and they all seem very grateful that I’ve travelled over here by myself to watch the tournament and see the country. Everyone seems keen for me to tell the world that Pakistan is a warm and welcoming country with very hospitable people,” Jonathan said on Wednesday having witnessed England’s exit at the hands of Afghanistan. “And I’m very happy to do that!”

Jonathan is a ‘former’ Capetonian but has lived in London for many years where he works as an accountant which provides him with just enough spare cash to indulge his passion for travel and cricket - but not so much to provide for five-star hotels or other luxuries. Indeed, he took a 6:00am bus from Islamabad to Lahore for the England match - I’ve asked him to send some photos from the road trip.

Many cricket writers, commentators and even some administrators have been calling for greater ‘context’ in all international fixtures - is there really a future for bilateral 50-over series between most nations, for example? England and India are the only countries able to regularly fill venues for 50-over matches outside of ICC events or, as was the case in the now defunct World Cup Super League, qualifying matches.

But Jonathan’s flight to Karachi and first visit to Pakistan is a reminder to those of us who earn a living writing about and commenting on the game that there is another, important aspect of following it - literally following it - and that is the experience of seeing new places, meeting new people, eating different food and immersing into different cultures. Results which ‘matter’ tend to produce more keenly contested matches and ‘better’ entertainment, but not always.

Stand by for Jonathan’s departure column - if he still has the energy and inclination to share his experience with us. Like many of us who were considering being there, the fact that the venues for the semi-finals and final will not be known until a few days beforehand mean that he, too, will be watching the last three games on television at home.