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| August 10, 2002 | Saturday | Jamadi-ul-Awwal 30,1423 |
ICC to help finding neutral venue
LONDON, Aug 9: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has said it will help Pakistan and Australia find an alternate venue for their October Test series following the Australians’ decision to cancel the upcoming tour.
ICC president Malcolm Gray said Friday it was regrettable the tour would not take place after the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) decided to pull out earlier in the day over safety concerns.
Gray added that the main issue now was to find a new location to salvage the series.
“Clearly, having a team withdraw from a series is regrettable but the safety of players and officials can not be compromised,” Gray said in a statement.
“The ACB and the Australian government are best placed to make assessments in relation to the safety of Australian cricketers in Pakistan and their decisions must be respected.”
“The choice is now made and the focus now shifts to ensuring the games are played in an alternate location.
“ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed will now be ensuring that the ACB and the PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) work together to identify a suitable venue for this series as quickly as possible.”
Gray also confirmed that the ICC was finalising a policy that would allow countries affected by tour cancellations to draw against future ICC revenues.
“At June’s meeting with all Boards, the PCB proposed a compensation scheme to deal with cancelled tours,” he said.
“This compensation could only come from the entitlements of other boards and such a move was not supported by the other countries.
“However, the ICC agreed in principle to a scheme that would allow any home board affected by the cancellation of a tour to draw against its future entitlements from the ICC.
“The mechanics of this scheme are now being finalised and I would expect the PCB to be the first board to be able to draw against its future entitlements — if it deems it necessary.”—Reuters
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