Snipers take positions in Pakistan to try to make cricket feel normal

Seen from the roof of Karachi’s National Stadium, the city stretches as far as you can see in all directions, up into the hills one way and out into the sea the other. Around 18 million people live here. Only the soldiers stand out. They are conspicuous in their black uniforms, as dark and numerous as the kites overhead, and as watchful, too.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has spent so much on the security for this tour it will not make money from it even with all the corporate sponsorship. It is a loss-leader for the country, meant to reassure the English that this is a safe place to visit, and the world that Pakistan is a safe place to do business.

Before Tuesday’s T20 international you could pick out the three-man sniper teams stationed around the stadium, one on the roof of the Indus University, another on top of the huge billboard advertising Strawberryade, a third above an apartment block silhouetted by the setting sun. The Spidercam, which is supposed to provide aerial pictures for the TV feed, had been taken down overnight. The story went around that it was removed when the security team realised it would make it impossible for the army helicopter that follows the team to land on the outfield if needed for an emergency evacuation.

On the outfield, the England team were having their customary warm-up kickabout. It was as far as the players had been from their security detail all week. “Every time I go to the toilet, there’s somebody following me,” said Harry Brook. “I’ve never really had that before.”

The players were disconcerted by it at first and discussed the security situation in a team meeting. It was explained that the guards needed to stay within a few paces so they could intervene if anyone came up with a