More security in Aus grounds: Pak sports minister

The recent pitch invasion in Perth has forced Pakistan Sports Minister Aijaz Hussain Jakhrani to ask Cricket Australia to beef up security at grounds and ban alcohol before it is too late.

"The thing that really worried me, what if that person had a knife on him, he got there and could have done anything he wanted," Jakhrani was quoted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald.

"They should ban alcohol at grounds. There should be some kind of barrier or restriction to stop people entering the ground. This is the right time to think about these things. It is no good waiting for someone to die before making decisions," he said.

Jakhrani said he had asked the Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ejaz Butt to take up the issue with his Australian counterpart or else he will have to intervene in the matter.

"I have told the cricket board chairman that he should take it up with the Australian cricket board - this is not on. Let's wait and see what they say, otherwise I can definitely take it up with my counterpart in Australia," the minister said.

The serious issue of security of players Down Under came to light after Pakistan opener Khalid Latif was brought down to the ground by a drunk spectator during the fifth and final ODI in Perth on Sunday.

The International Cricket Council too was upset about the incident and had asked for an explanation from CA.

"We are disappointed. There was a clear security breach," an ICC spokesman said. CA, on its part, said that the incident was a blot on Australia's image as a world class cricket venue.

"It does play into a broader context. It gives Australia in general, and Perth in particular a bad name when something like this happens. And it does the reputation to our sport no good either," CA spokesman Peter Young said.