When can you travel somewhere safely? Cricket Australia say they just follow expert advice:

It is a charge from the subcontinent and the International Cricket Council that has already been laid against players from several countries who stayed in India for the lucrative Indian Premier League after a devastating terrorist blast in Jaipur during May, but are now refusing to tour Pakistan for the Champions Trophy in September.

A CA spokesman claimed that every tour was assessed on its merits. "We only go where security advice tells us is safe," CA's general manager of public affairs Peter Young said yesterday.

"The same question was asked about the London bombings during the '05 Ashes tour when we did not go to Pakistan in March.

"As far as London was concerned we kept the team out of there until security advice was emphatic that it was safe.

"We go through the same process every tour. It's as simple as that."

Ducking Beamers highlights one important consideration, the obvious one really. Money:

There’s no arguing that Pakistan is, on its face, a tad more unstable. But then, so is India: during the Indian Premier League, a series of blasts rocked Jaipur (and a number of explosions did so just recently), but the resident team vowed to stay on and play (a good thing, since they went on to win the tournament). When money is involved, it appears, fears tend to disappear.

And Mike Selvey makes much the same point. Hypocrisy and money:

Meanwhile I await further evidence of what might at best be viewed as double standards by the players, and at worst hypocrisy. In 2005 Australia and England played one-day internationals at Lord's and The Oval just days after the July 7 atrocities in central London. If memory serves, there was no clamour to leave. Last winter England toured Sri Lanka even as bombs were exploding in Colombo and its environs. My family and I remained in Sri Lanka after the tour to enjoy a memorable Christmas and to appreciate that sometimes the reality outweighs the perception.

jno50, in the first comment to Selvey's post, argues interestingly that it's not hypocrisy, just a cost-benefit analysis that all professional players should make.