NZC chief executive Martin Snedden announces return of New Zealand teams from India and Pakistan tours Photograph © CricInfo

New Zealand Cricket chief executive Martin Snedden said calling both the CLEAR Black Caps and the New Zealand A teams home had not been a hard decision once he had received specialist advice.

He said NZC gave itself a 48-hour window on Wednesday to make a decision because the world had been in shock initially and more considered advice was required before some finality was reached.

Snedden did not rule out the staging of a truncated tour if there was "a very categorical clearance of Pakistan."

He said there had been no one piece of advice that had helped seal the decision.

"It was consistent advice the whole way from Foreign Affairs, and from other agencies, that it was not advisable to travel to Pakistan," he said.

It wasn't only because the first Test was due to be played in Peshawar, close to the border with Afghanistan, the subject of increasing speculation as the base from which terrorist raids were sanctioned, but the proximity of Pakistan to a potential troublespot.

"Pakistan will be naturally very disappointed but if I am honest their reaction isn't of major concern to me.

"Pakistan is not in a position to guarantee the security of our players, it's a world-wide concern," he said.

Snedden said he had a long conversation with the director of the Pakistan Cricket Board, Brigadier Munawar Ahmed Rana on Wednesday night (NZ time). After that the PCB issued a statement assuring the New Zealanders of safety and security during the tour.

While Snedden offered the chance of a shorter tour if issues were quickly resolved, he said it seemed unlikely that New Zealand would go on a truncated tour.

Snedden did not think there would be any financial implications for New Zealand.

An act of war was involved and that would not affect financial guarantees.

Sports events in the United States had been called off and "no-one would be able to argue our decision is unreasonable," he said.

Snedden had been in contact with Black Caps team manager Jeff Crowe in Singapore and said Crowe accepted the decision.

Crowe was captain of the New Zealand team which withdrew from Sri Lanka in 1987 after a bomb explosion destroyed Colombo's main bus station (Snedden was a member of the side) and was manager of the New Zealand team during recent problems in Sri Lanka in the Coca-Cola Cup tournament.

"He said he felt far more vulnerable going into Pakistan than on any previous occasion," Snedden said.

New Zealand A's withdrawal from the Indian tournament in Hyderabad would not cause too many problems by comparison.

"It is not an Indian Cricket Board-sanctioned tournament. I imagine they would be fairly relaxed about it," he said.

© CricInfo