Cricket News: Bangladesh agree to tour Pakistan

Cricket-Bangladesh agree to tour Pakistan

Sun, 15 Apr 12:01:00 2012

Bangladesh has agreed to tour Pakistan for two matches which would be the first full internationals in the country since March 2009 when Sri Lankan cricketers and officials were attacked by gunmen in Lahore.

Bangladesh will play one one-day international and one Twenty20 international in Lahore at the end of this month, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said in a statement on Sunday.

The ICC board has requested the Pakistan Cricket Board to immediately provide a comprehensive security plan for consideration.

The ICC Anti Corruption and Security Unit will then commission a localised risk assessment to determine if the officials and staff are appropriately protected by the proposed security plan, before any further decision is taken in relation to their appointment.

Last month, the ICC had said it may waive its requirement for neutral match officials if the proposed series went ahead.

Under the ICC's standard playing conditions for ODIs, one of the two on-field umpires and the match referee must be drawn from countries not taking part in a match.

"The public of Pakistan have been deprived of cricket and we felt that we needed to support them," Bangladesh Cricket Board president Mustafa Kamal was quoted as saying in the statement.

"The reception we received when we toured Lahore and Karachi on our security visit was overwhelming."

PCB Chairman Zaka Ashraf thanked the BCB and the Bangladesh Government for their support for the tour.

Foreign teams have continued to shun Pakistan for more than three years now after the attack which killed six Pakistani policemen and a van driver.

Source: http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/15042012/2/cricket-bangladesh-agree-tour-pakistan.html

Pakistan news: Bilateral ties hinge on tour of Pakistan

Pakistan news
Bilateral ties hinge on tour of Pakistan
Umar Farooq
March 19, 2012


The relationship between the PCB and the BCB is likely to suffer if Bangladesh do not go ahead with the proposed tour to Pakistan in April because of security concerns, ESPNcricinfo has learnt. An implicit deal had been reached by the two boards, according to which the PCB backed BCB president Mustafa Kamal as the nominee for the ICC vice-presidency and Bangladesh would tour Pakistan in 2012.

"Ultimately, its Bangladesh's loss if they don't send their team," Zaka Ashraf told ESPNcricinfo. "We are helping them and want to have a positive relationship not only with Bangladesh, but all the nations. We want to strengthen our relationship. We have been sending our players to feature in their leagues and we expect them to respect our positive approach, after all everything is on reciprocal basis."

The ICC executive board is set to consider Kamal's nomination as its next vice-president, and president in 2014 after Alan Isaac's term. And though there have been constant doubts over whether Bangladesh will tour Pakistan, the PCB is optimistic that the drought of international cricket in the country since the terror attacks on the Sri Lankan team in March 2009 will come to an end.

ESPNcricinfo understands that the BCB, despite being satisfied by the proposed security arrangements for the tour to Pakistan, is seeking some support from other countries, but none has been forthcoming. A nine-member delegation, headed by Kamal, had been sent on a two-day visit to Pakistan to observe a demonstration of the security plan for the series, and Kamal had said he was positive about the tour going ahead.

The ICC, however, introduced a special dispensation to be made in exceptional circumstances in order to ensure bilateral series take place even if the ruling body determined it unsafe to appoint its officials for such series. It would allow such series to be manned by "non-neutral match officials."

Kamal then put the future of the tour in doubt by saying, "We won't go if everything doesn't happen within the standard practice, which is the allocation of match-referees, umpires and all things by the ICC."

While the PCB did not respond to Kamal's comments, a board official said the BCB was being leaned on by another country. "We are informed of a third-country pressure on BCB," a PCB official told ESPNcricinfo. "We understand most of the member boards aren't keen to support our move, but we are very much clear of what would be required to give Bangladesh the confidence to come to Pakistan. And we did exactly what we have to do - we have engaged the government at the superior level to satisfy Bangladesh with the security arrangements."

Since the attacks, Pakistan have played their home bilateral series at offshore venues such as New Zealand, England and the UAE but the PCB saw no commercial advantage in hosting Bangladesh at such venues. The PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf, who will be in Dhaka for the end of the Asia Cup, will make a final attempt to allay any doubts Bangladesh might have. The PCB also ruled out the possibility of talks with the BCCI. "There's no use of asking India any further," Ashraf said. "Their board doesn't want to play us and that's clearly understood."

Edited by George Binoy

Umar Farooq is ESPNcricinfo's Pakistan correspondent




Source: ESPNcricinfo

Bangladesh's Tour In Pakistan In doubt

Bangladesh news
Mustafa Kamal remarks throw Pakistan tour into doubt
Siddarth Ravindran in Dhaka For ESPNcricinfo
March 12, 2012

The uncertainty over whether Bangladesh will tour Pakistan next month and end a three-year drought of international cricket there continues, after BCB president Mustafa Kamal said they would not tour if the ICC did not agree to send their match officials. Several moves over the past two weeks suggested the tour was going to be given the green light. These included a Bangladesh delegation approving the security infrastructure in Pakistan, and the ICC introducing a special dispensation that would allow "non-neutral match officials" for bilateral series in "exceptional circumstances", should it find it unsafe to appoint its officials for a series.

However, Kamal has now said said there was no question of the tour going ahead if the ICC did not provide officials. "We won't go if everything doesn't happen within the standard practice, which is the allocation of match-referees, umpires and all things by the ICC," he said on Wednesday in Dhaka. "That [allowing officials from the competing teams] means we are not going there because ICC also has responsibility. If they don't take responsibility, then on what basis can I send my players."

The ICC's recommendation to allow bilateral series to continue even though the governing body had security concerns about them had already drawn flak from the Federation of International Cricketers' Association.

Pakistan have not hosted any international matches since a terrorist attack on Sri Lankan players in Lahore three years ago. They have played most of their home matches in the UAE since then, though the PCB has been pushing hard to stage matches in Pakistan.

Kamal said he too wanted international cricket to return to Pakistan.

"I am the president of the BCB and also the president of the Asian Cricket Council, in that sense I have a dual responsibility, and yes I do want cricket to happen in Pakistan but it all depends on many issues - security, the ICC's views and the government's approval. The discussions are on and in a short time we will announce our decision."

Last week, a nine-member delegation from Bangladesh, headed by Kamal, had been given a two-day demonstration of the security plan for the proposed bilateral series next month. After being briefed about the arrangements, the delegation had been satisfied with arrangements in Lahore, and Kamal had been optimistic about the series going ahead.

Edited by Dustin Silgardo

Siddarth Ravindran is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

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