''An act of violence like this is a terrible thing and when it involves those who are part of our cricketing family, players the world over are affected,'' he said.

Lahore police said the gunmen ''appeared to be well-trained terrorists''.

Security experts defused two car bombs and recovered a stash of weapons including grenades, 3kg of explosives, a pistol and a detonating cable after the ambush.

Television footage showed several gunmen creeping through trees, crouching to aim their weapons and then running on to the next target.

Witnesses said the upmarket district Liberty Square was turned into a battlefield as gunmen who reportedly escaped hid behind trees before opening fire.

''There was a blast first, then we heard firing. A rocket launcher was also fired at the bus which narrowly missed,'' a Sri Lankan player said on condition of anonymity.

Bayliss's predecessor, Tom Moody, said he was ''shocked and saddened'' by the attack, while Cricket Australia also expressed its condolences after ''this awful incident''.

Other cricket figures expressed shock that elite sportsmen had been targeted, particularly on the cricket-mad subcontinent when it had been previously thought they were off limits. Trevor Penney, who served under Moody as assistant coach of Sri Lanka, said, ''I know the players have lived in a country where there's been bombings and stuff like that and all these terrorist groups haven't really targeted cricketers up until now.''

Australia is next scheduled to visit in 2010 to play Tests, but that tour appears certain to be scrapped.

Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland said, ''It's way too early to make predictions about that, obviously there have been concerns about security in Pakistan and this in some ways confirms those issues.

''Let's just see what the future holds.''

Former Australian paceman Lawson had previously maintained visiting cricketers would never be in danger in Pakistan, so was naturally shocked.

''I'm trying to get some reaction to what's happening,'' he said.

''The players would never have thought something like this would ever happen and would be petrified and horrified. I could never have imagined something like this happening.''

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but fears of attacks by Islamic militants linked to al-Qaeda have caused many cricket teams to cancel tours to Pakistan in recent years.

The shooting also came as the Sri Lankan army pushed its final offensive against ethnic Tamil rebels in the north of the country in a civil war that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

Pakistani officials said the attack bore all the hallmarks of the November 2008 assault on the Indian city of Mumbai which was blamed on Pakistan-based Islamic militants.

India's immediate reaction was to say Pakistan needed to dismantle its ''infrastructure of terrorism''.

Sri Lankan officials said eight members of the touring party seven players and an assistant coach were wounded and that the team was immediately ending its tour of Pakistan.

Assistant coach Paul Farbrace, a Briton, and star batsman Thilan Samaraweera were kept in hospital although their injuries were not believed to be life-threatening, Sri Lanka's Sports Minister, Gamini Lokuge, said.

Captain Mahela Jayawardene, vice-captain Kumar Sangakkara, Tharanga Paranavithana, Thilina Thushara and Ajantha Mendis suffered only minor injuries, he said.

Jayawardene said that the players dived to the floor of the bus to take cover when the team came under heavy fire.

''The bus came under attack as we were driving to the stadium, the gunmen targeted the wheels of the bus first and then the bus, Jayawardene was quoted as saying by website Cricinfo.

''We all dived to the floor to take cover. About five players have been injured and also Paul Farbrace, but most of the injuries appear to be minor at this stage and caused by debris,'' he said.

Australian freelance cameraman Tony Bennett said people inside the stadium heard explosions followed by bursts of machine gun fire.

''Next thing we knew, the Sri Lankan team bus rolls up being sprayed by bullets. Players were getting carried into the dressing room.''

Sangakkara said late last night that the entire touring squad was safe. ''There are a few injuries, but everyone is safe and all the players are out of danger,'' he told the Indian news channel CNN-IBN.

''We are shocked, but apart from that everyone is okay.''

The team was on its way to the Gaddafi Stadium for the third day of the second Test match in Lahore.