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| September 24, 2003 | Wednesday | Rajab 26, 1424 |
South Africa agree to tour Pakistan
DURBAN, Sept 23: South Africa have reversed their decision to cancel a tour of Pakistan over security fears after the hosts offered a revised itinerary, the United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCBSA) said on Tuesday.
“It has been decided in principle that the tour will go ahead,” UCBSA spokesman Moabi Litheko told Reuters.
The Pakistan tour had been given a final go-ahead last week, but the UCBSA then decided to call it off because of a bomb blast in Karachi on Friday.
South Africa had been particularly concerned about matches scheduled for Karachi and Peshawar, near the border with Afghanistan, following consultation with safety and security consultants and South Africa’s High Commissioner in Islamabad.
Litheko said Tuesday’s decision was taken at a meeting of the management committee of Cricket South Africa (CSA) in Johannesburg. South Africa captain Graeme Smith and coach Eric Simons also attended the meeting.
South Africa had initially been scheduled to play three One-day Internationals and three Tests, at Lahore, Peshawar and Karachi, between Sept 26 and Oct 27, but the revised itinerary drops one of the Tests.
“That will be thrashed out in the next day or so,” UCBSA media manager Gerald de Kock said.
South Africa will now tour Pakistan from Oct 1-28 to play two Tests and five One-day Internationals.
The Pakistan board proposes that the five one-dayers will be staged before the two Tests, which are to be played at Lahore and Faisalabad.
The one-day games will be held in Lahore (two), Rawalpindi (two) and Faisalabad (one).
The South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA) said it was satisfied with the UCB’s handling of the issue.
“There has been a great deal of consultation between the UCB, the players and the Pakistanis,” SACA secretary Errol Stewart said.
“It has been carefully thought through, and in deciding to allow the tour to go ahead the UCB would have satisfied themselves about the state of play in Pakistan.”
The CSA said the resolution to proceed with the tour was subject to the board remaining satisfied with the security arrangements. It said it had the right to reverse its decision if the level of risk deteriorated to an unacceptable level.—Reuters
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