England captains past and present believe cricket has no choice but to defy the terrorist threat, as far as humanly possible.

The Lahore attacks on the Sri Lankan team and Test match officials' bus - which this week claimed eight lives - have raised serious doubts not just about the future of cricket in Pakistan but also the feasibility of this year's Indian Premier League going ahead as planned.

Yet Michael Vaughan and Andrew Strauss, the latter preparing his team to take on West Indies in the fifth Test at Port-of-Spain today, both hope that with the right security measures cricket can hope to carry on - even on the sub-continent.

"Cricket must go on"

"I don't think we can bow down and give into these terrorists," Vaughan told Sky Sports News.

"We have to make sure, as much as we can, we keep cricket - and cricket in Pakistan - alive."

Vaughan concedes he himself would be uncomfortable about travelling to Pakistan in the immediate future. Thankfully, that is not on his agenda, but IPL contracts are very much in the minds of England's Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood and Andrew Flintoff.

"Tough to go to Pakistan"

"I would find it difficult to go there at this stage, having seen what has happened," Vaughan added.

"But I am sure if they are given the security the England team were given in December after the Mumbai attacks they will be fine."

Strauss too is hoping for a return to some sort of normality.

"The game has to continue," he said.

"We hope cricket can come out of this week in a positive light."

Butt vows to rake up Broad remarks

Both men were speaking after Pakistan cricket chief Ijaz Butt had vowed to make a complaint to the International Cricket Council over claims made by match referee Chris Broad and Sri Lanka spinner Muttiah Muralitharan about the Lahore attack.

Former England opener Broad and Muralitharan both spoke critically about the safety measures that were put in place as players and officials travelled to the Gaddafi Stadium for the third day of the second Test.

But Butt dismissed their testimony as "untrue" and "fabricated".

Broad, who emerged shaken but physically unscathed from the ambush, said that a promise of "presidential-style" security in reality left them like "sitting ducks".

Muralitharan, meanwhile, has queried whether the security detail offered to his team were properly trained.

Butt unhappy

PCB chairman Butt said: "Match referee Chris Broad's statement is fabricated.

"There was no change in the level of security. I will lodge a complaint with the ICC against his [Broad's] statement.

"Muralitharan's allegations that there weren't any security personnel travelling with the team bus is also untrue.

"This is an unfortunate incident, and policemen have lost their lives.

"In any case, people who escaped the tragedy without even a scratch should not be pointing fingers at the same security men who died saving them."

The Bangladesh Cricket Board yesterday postponed Pakistan's tour of the country, which was due to begin next week, as a result of the Lahore attack.