West Indies series could be moved, say Pakistan

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) want their West Indies counterparts to decide whether their players will tour Pakistan next month or play the series at a neutral venue such as Sharjah or Tangiers.

The tour has been thrown into doubt after the escalation of border tensions between Pakistan and India.

"The ball is in their court," PCB chairman Tauqir Zia told Reuters on Sunday.

"Our stand is that we are willing to host West Indies at home. But if they want to play at a neutral venue they should let us know.

"We have no objections to playing at a neutral venue if they want to do that."

West Indies are scheduled to play three Tests and three one-day internationals from January 25.

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) said on Saturday it was waiting for a response from the PCB to see if conditions were conducive for the series to go ahead.

Zia said: "There is no doubt that conditions have taken a twist in the last eight days.

"But we still say we can organise the series in Pakistan. But we have not ruled out playing at a neutral venue as a second option."

Pakistan cricket has been hit hard after the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington led to the cancellation of tours by New Zealand and Sri Lanka.

REVENUE LOSS

India also pulled out of a full series and an Asian Test Championship match at Lahore, causing the PCB an estimated revenue loss of $8-10 million.

The PCB had hoped to make up for the lost revenues through home series against West Indies and a planned tour by New Zealand in April-May.

"We just want this series to go ahead," Zia said. "Our team has been without international cricket for too long now."

Zia said cricket promoter Abdul Rehman Bukhatir of the Cricketers Benefit Fund Series (CBFS) had offered Sharjah and Tangiers in Morocco as possible venues to host matches between Pakistan and West Indies.

"He has also assured us that we would get our revenues from the television coverage," Zia said.

Zia added that the WICB had asked the PCB to confirm a proposal to send two of their representatives to Pakistan to judge the conditions for themselves.

"What we feel is that since Clive Lloyd is coming over to Pakistan to work with our junior team, there is no better person than him to give feedback on this to the WICB," Zia said.

Lloyd, a former West Indies captain, is expected in Rawalpindi this week.

The first Test is scheduled for Rawalpindi from February 2, the second in Peshawar from February 11 and the third for Faisalabad from February 19.

Mail Cricket Editor