Australia to send security experts to Pakistan

Cricket Australia has said it is too early to consider the status of the tour of Pakistan which is due to take place next February and March.

Although the state of emergency in Pakistan is still in place, what is of more concern is that elections are due to take place in January or February and those might coincide with an escalation in violence in the country.

The board will send representatives, including a security expert, to assess the situation in February and will then decide whether the three-Test five-ODI tour can go ahead.

Australia last played a Test series in Pakistan in 1998-99. A proposed tour four years later was cancelled on safety grounds and was subsequently played at a neutral venue in Sharjah.

Australia’s tour to Pakistan subject to security

KARACHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will have to wait for a final word from a high-level security delegation of Cricket Australia (CA) before they can start planning for tours by the Australian junior and senior teams this season.

While the Australian under-19 and ‘A’ teams are due to tour Pakistan from late August to October onwards, the senior team tours in February-March next year to play three Tests and five One-day Internationals (ODIs).

A senior official of the board said on Friday that Cricket Australia had confirmed they would be sending their inspection team on a reconnaissance visit sometime in July.

The Australians would visit all the proposed venues and meet with security officials to ensure their teams face no problems in Pakistan.

Shafqat Nagmi, the Chief Executive Officer of the Pakistan Cricket Board, said the visit by the inspection team didn’t mean the Australians had any reservations about playing in Pakistan. “Their tours are very much on. These inspection visits are now routine and done before every series,” he added.

Australia had in 2002 backed out of touring Pakistan citing security concerns for their players after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States. The series was later played at neutral venues.

The Australians last played a Test series in Pakistan in 1998-99 but their junior teams have made visits in the last three years.