Terrorists targeted the drivers - Broad

Chris Broad, centre, believes ICC match officials were "sitting ducks" after their driver was killed

Match referee Chris Broad believes the fact the bus carrying the Sri Lanka players was able to drive away from yesterday’s terrorist ambush attack in Lahore helped avert a greater disaster.

The former England batsman was travelling with other match officials to the second Test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore when the attack occurred.

Their vehicle was trailing the Sri Lanka team bus when both vehicles came under heavy gun fire less than half a mile from their destination.

Six policemen and two civilians were killed in the ensuing gunfire, and Broad’s bus was stranded after terrorists killed the driver.

Broad believes the terrorists had plotted to kill the drivers of both buses in an attempt to stop them from driving away.

The Sri Lanka bus also came under gunfire - with seven players and assistant coach Paul Farbrace injured - but driver Mehar Mohammad Khalil was able to drive away from the incident after shots aimed at their driver missed. Broad believes that could have saved lives.

“Clearly the terrorists targeted the bus drivers,” Broad said.

“The Sri Lanka bus driver told us afterwards that he had been shot at two or three times.

"They missed him so he was able to drive away. Clearly the terrorists targeted the drivers to try and get the bus stationary.

“It was only that the Sri Lankan bus had gone from the scene, they were the targets, that the terrorists felt they had missed their target. So what police were left, were firing at the terrorists, the terrorists fired back.

“Once they realised that had missed their targets they probably left.”

Asked to imagine the situation if the terrorists had successfully attacked Sri Lanka’s bus, Broad said: “I don’t want to think about that.

Sri Lanka's players, seven of whom were injured, arrived back in Colombo on a chartered flight today

“I’m hearing various stories about how a grenade was thrown under the bus but didn’t go off and a rocket launcher was fired at the bus but missed. There are lots of ifs and buts.

“But it is just a major tragedy for the world of sport and Pakistan itself because I can’t see cricket going back there, certainly in the distant future.”

Broad admitted he had feared for his life as bullets pelted the bus he and fellow match officials were in for “seven to 10 minutes.”

The 51-year-old at one stage shielded fourth umpire Ahsan Raza with his body after the local official had been hit by a bullet.

Raza was in a critical condition in a Lahore hospital and Broad admitted he felt lucky it was not he who was injured.

“I’m not a hero," said Broad. "Ahsan Raza took a bullet to the stomach or chest - somewhere in the spleen and lung region. I was lying behind him on the floor of the van and there were bullets flying all around us.

“I only noticed he was injured when I saw a large pool of blood had spilled on to the floor and out of the partially opened van door. He’s just an umpire who loves the game.

“It is very difficult to put it into words," he said. "There were five of us in the back of van all lying on floor just listening to the crack of bullets going on around us and hitting the van. Every time you heard a crack you just thought ‘this bullet’s for me’.

“We were unaware of what was going on outside the bus, just that our van was hit several times.

“Fortunately for myself, Simon Taufel, Steve Davis, Peter Manuel and (third umpire) Nadeem Ghauri none of the bullets hit us. Unfortunately for Ahsan Raza and for Abdul Sami, our liaison officer, both got hit.

“The terrorists had also killed our driver so we were stranded. We were sitting ducks.”

With the second Test immediately abandoned after the attacks, Broad was able get a flight out of Pakistan to Dubai yesterday - along with umpires Taufel and Davis - and is due to land in Manchester this morning.