FORMER England batsman Chris Broad spoke today of his anger towards the Pakistani security forces who he said ran for cover during the terror attack in Lahore.
The Test match referee was in a van with other officials which was targeted along with the Sri Lanka team bus as they travelled to the Gaddafi Stadium.
Speaking at a press conference on his return to the UK, Broad, 51, said: "I am extremely angry
that we were promised high-level security and in our hour of need that security vanished.
"I am extremely fortunate to be here today.
"I had an inkling before the Test match leg of the tour that something might happen.
"I raised my concerns with the ICC before the tour started and they passed on those concerns to the Pakistan Cricket Board and they assured me through email that all security would be taken care of, presidential-style security. And clearly that didn't happen.
"When we were in the van we weren't aware of what was going on outside. But afterwards when you watch the TV pictures you can clearly see the white van we were in, in the middle of a roundabout and not a sign of a policeman anywhere."
Broad was hailed a hero as he shielded wounded Pakistani umpire Ahsan Raza on the floor of the van after at least a dozen armed terrorists opened fire ahead of the third day of the Second Test yesterday.
The officials were abandoned by local police when their driver was shot dead in the attack, Broad said.
"Once the shooting had died down, Nadeem Ghouri (a Test umpire) put his head up to see and there was no-one there," he recalled.
"At some stage an elite policeman went into the van and ended lying on top of me. It was not a particularly brave thing for him to do.
"I told him he must get us away but he said in broken English that he could not drive.
"Eventually another policeman opened the front door and he took the driver out unceremoniously and dumped him on the floor and drove us to the ground.
"At every junction from the hotel to where we were attacked there were police in uniforms with handguns controlling the traffic.
"How did the terrorists come up to the roundabout and start firing and these guys did nothing about it?
"There were plenty of police there but these terrorists came in, did what they wanted to do and then got out of there."
He added: "I am angry at the Pakistani security forces because we were promised we would get presidential-style security.
"Imran Khan (former Pakistan cricketer) said on television he was embarrassed at the level of security. He would not accept it and we should not have had to accept it."
Appearing tired and strained, he told reporters at Manchester Airport that he had not slept since the incident.
"I find it difficult to sleep at the moment because there are so many images going through my mind. It's something that I'm going to have to come to terms with.
"Fortunately, I was able to speak to both my daughter and my son on the morning of the incident. I spoke to my wife as well, I woke her up at four o'clock in the morning – she wasn't best pleased but she was glad to know the situation. Their minds were put at rest.
"I don't think it's really hit any of us yet, it probably will when we go home having time and thoughts to ourselves. Then it might just hit home what we've been through, because it was certainly an unbelievable experience."
Broad said he first became aware they were under siege when he saw the Sri Lanka team bus come to a halt along with their vehicle and then heard "popping sounds".
He added it was umpire Raza who first shouted at everyone to get down.
"I'm not a hero. 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."
Broad said he felt sadness for those injured and killed in the atrocity, particularly the driver.
"One of the loveliest men you could ever wish to see. Always had a smile on his face. He was just doing his job, driving to the cricket ground," he said.
"I feel sorry for his family. I send my best wishes."
Broad reiterated his concerns about security ahead of the game.
"It was off the back of the ICC meeting where the Oval Test match result had changed, there had been a UN envoy that had been kidnapped in Pakistan and, of course, the Champions Trophy had been taken away
from Pakistan," he said.
"I just thought as an Englishman, particularly with the Oval Test match, I know feelings ran fairly high over that particular match. I just felt a little concerned for my own safety that something might happen to me.
"But, as I said, I was assured by Zakir Khan, the director of cricket operations in the PCB, that everything would be fine.
"I was there for the one-day series and everything went well – as well as it has normally gone in Pakistan.
"Once you get assurances from someone who's actually living in the country and knows the situation, it's very difficult to change your view on that and I went along with it."
He said England's cricket security advisers were "amazed" the Sri Lanka tour went ahead and said England would not have travelled.
Broad suggested the International Cricket Council (ICC) could take more control over decisions on security issues rather than leaving it to national boards.
He said he would speak again with his son, Stuart, on tour with England in the West Indies, later today, "just to reassure him that all things have gone well".
Broad added that international cricket is unlikely to ever be the same in the wake of the incident.
"I think this has shocked the world of cricket," he said. "I hope this has made people sit up and think. In certain circumstances, things take a long time to change in cricket, but in this case things will have to happen fairly quickly.
"I don't know what the future holds for Pakistan cricket. They have a lot of very talented cricketers, and I feel sorry for the cricketers and for the cricket-mad public of Pakistan. They love to see cricket, they come in great numbers to one-day internationals.
"But this is a death knell for cricket in Pakistan and I feel sorry for those people."
