KARACHI, Sept 16: Former West Indian captain Clive Lloyd will oversee next month’s Test series between Pakistan and Australia as the ICC match referee, the Pakistan Cricket Board announced Monday.

ICC panel umpires Steve Bucknor of the West Indies and India’s Srinivas Venkataraghavan will officiate in all three Tests.

Pakistan’s Aleem Dar, Nadeem Ghauri and Asad Rauf will be television umpires.

The series will be played at two neutral venues after Australia refused to tour Pakistan over security fears.

The first Test starts in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Oct 3. The remaining two will be played in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates from Oct 11-15 and Oct 19-23.

Pakistan was forced to shift its Golden Jubilee Test series following the Sept 11 attacks and the ensuing war in Afghanistan.

Pakistan played their first Test in 1952-53 and wanted to mark the jubilee with a tri-series one-day tournament and Test series, both involving Australia.

The tri-series was played in Nairobi in August-September with Pakistan and Australia sharing the trophy after the final was disrupted by rain.—AFP