Pakistan Tuesday said it has agreed to shift its forthcoming
series against West Indies to Sharjah but added that it
would lodge a protest to the game’s ruling body
International Cricket Council (ICC)
Samiul Hasan09-Jan-2002Pakistan Tuesday said it has agreed to shift its forthcoming
series against West Indies to Sharjah but added that it
would lodge a protest to the game’s ruling body
International Cricket Council (ICC).”We have accepted West Indies demands of playing at a
neutral venue. But that doesn’t mean we agree with them. I
will write to the ICC and probably will also talk to Malcolm
Gray Wednesday,” chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board
(PCB) Lt Gen Tauqir Zia told Dawn from Rawalpindi.He added:”I am bitterly disappointed because I feel that the
conditions in Pakistan are perfectly normal and peaceful. I
also believe a wrong precedence is being set.”The series at neutral venue will be played in February and
will comprise two Tests and three one-day internationals. No
warm-up games will be slated in the revised itinerary which
will be released in due course of time. A Test has been
reduced to curb the financial losses.It will be the third time in the 123-year history of Test
cricket that Tests would be played on neutral territory. In
1911, South Africa and Australia played in England while
Pakistan and Sri Lanka contested the 1999 Asian Test
Championship final at Dhaka.Nevertheless, Tauqir stressed it was a one-time decision and
shouldn’t been taken as first priority by any board.”I would not play against Australia (in September) on
neutral territory. We agreed to Sharjah this time because we
were running out of time. Had we delayed the decision, it
would have compounded problems relating to logistics,
sponsorships and television rights.”The PCB supremo admitted that he had also considered the
option of cancelling the series against the once mighty West
Indies who are now the whipping boys of international
cricket.”Yes, I did think over cancelling the series. But then it
would have spoiled our good relations with the West Indies
board,” he said.He revealed that he took the decision after consulting
President General Pervez Musharraf who is also the Patron of
the PCB.”I discussed the issue at length with him. He gave me the
authority to take the decision which I thought would be in
the best interest of Pakistan cricket,” the General said.Tauqir said he made a last ditch effort Sunday to pursue his
West Indies counterpart Wes Hall to change his stance. “But
the WICB remained apprehensive about security.”I know that I will not be able to make much from this
series. But then something is better than nothing. My team
is starving for international cricket.”The West Indies board had made a flimsy excuse in October
1999 when they cancelled a scheduled tour saying their
players were committed to appear in a domestic competition.The recent WICB demand makes little sense in the background
that England have agreed to play an extra one-day
international in India despite the fact that border
situation between the two countries was at its lowest ebb.”Surprisingly, they are not scared of the tension between
Pakistan and India. Their main concern remains Afghanistan
and Osama Bin Laden who, they think, was a threat since he
has not been arrested,” he said.The PCB had guaranteed West Indies players as much security
guarantee as any host board could possibly give. It is
deplorable that the WICB didn’t trust its counterpart which
has never raised security concerns wherever it plays.”I am still willing to play India anywhere. And when I say
anywhere, it means even in India,” he said.Tauqir said Pakistan would send his own curators sometime
this week to prepare pitches.Sharjah has hosted 181 one-day internationals. But has never
organized a first-class match.Reuters adds from Sharjah: Mazhar Khan, administrator of the
Emirates Cricket Board, said his board was “honoured and
delighted” to be hosting the series. “We have a very short
time to prepare, but then we are pretty experienced in
hosting matches,” he said.”Sharjah has already played host to 181 one-day matches so
far and the experience will come in handy. It will be an
historic moment for us when we host the first Test match
here.”
