The Pakistan’s home limited-overs series against Australia this August is likely to be played in Sri Lanka, with SLC secretary Nishantha Ranatunga and PCB director Intikhab Alam both saying they had agreed in principle to the arrangement.
Cricket Australia’s (CA) stand has not been made public but it is understood to be aware of the plan. The Memorandum of Understanding has not yet been signed and Alam will travel to Sri Lanka next week to finalise arrangements. “Sri Lanka Cricket had expressed the desire to host the series to the PCB a month ago and both boards have no problems with it. I do not know about the stand of the other cricket board CA yet,” Ranatunga was quoted as saying on a website.
Alam revealed that South Africa and Australia itself were the other two nations being considered as venues for the series, but Sri Lanka was selected for commercial and cricketing reasons. Pakistan and Australia will play five ODIs and three Twenty20 internationals against each other. The original plan was to play just one Twenty20, but with the World T20 immediately after the series, the countries’ boards have agreed to play two extra matches. While the UAE has been their location of choice recently, the scheduling of the Australia series just before the World Twenty20, which will be played in Sri Lanka, may have influenced the decision on where to play the five ODIs and one Twenty20 international.
Pakistan hosted most of the home series in United Arab Emirates as all the cricket playing nations refused to play in Pakistan after attack on Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore in March 2009.
Initially the series was considered to be played in South Africa and Australia but the PCB is considering Sri Lanka due to commercial reasons.
“Sri Lanka Cricket had expressed the desire to host the series to the PCB a month ago and both boards have no problems with it. I do not know about the stand of the other cricket board [CA] yet,” Ranatunga said.
The Australian cricket board also issued a statement saying, “Pakistan has kept us up to date on its plans for hosting the series they are due to play against us later this year and we are happy with the progress they are making, and with their consultation with us as they move through that process.”
The tour dates are yet to be decided however the PCB sources said that five match One Day Internationals and three Twenty20 matches would be played in series.
No plans to host B’desh in UAE: PCB: The Pakistan Cricket Board has ruled out any chance of playing Bangladesh at a neutral venue next month if the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) refuses to send its team to Pakistan.
A senior official of the Pakistan Board made it clear that there were absolutely no plans of hosting Bangladesh in the UAE or any other neutral venue if they did not come to Pakistan to play the three-match ODI series.
“The problem is that it would just not be cost effective for us to play them at any neutral venue,” said Subhan Ahmed, the Chief Operating Officer of the PCB.
The PCB had invited the Bangladesh board to send its team to Pakistan next month for a short series but is still waiting for a response from its counterpart.
Ahmed said that the BCB had not responded either in yes or no but had admitted that with time running out it seemed difficult that the series would be held in Pakistan. “The situation doesn’t seem very positive. But there is no chance we can play them at a neutral venue,” he insisted.
While the BCB officials have deferred the decision on sending their team to Pakistan until the ICC (International Cricket Council) board meeting next month in Dubai, Ahmed said by that time it would be too late to arrange the series.
Meanwhile, the PCB official said relations with the BCB remained good and steady despite the latter’s “unnecessary” move to appeal to the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) that Pakistani pacer Aizaz Cheema had indulged in unsporting behaviour during the Asia Cup final in Mirpur against Bangladesh last week.
But the ACC had dismissed the appeal from the BCB, which claimed Bangladesh should be awarded five runs as Cheema had deliberately tried to block its batsman Mahmudullah Riyad in the final over of the match that Pakistan won by two runs.
“We thought the appeal was unnecessary but we have taken no offence to it and it was their right. But we had always maintained only the match officials can decide on penalty runs in such a situation,” Ahmed said.
