August 09, 2007	Thursday	Rajab 24, 1428

LAHORE, Aug 8: Pakistan on Wednesday shifted the second and fifth One-day International against South Africa from Peshawar and Rawalpindi to Lahore and Karachi, citing poor cricketing facilities at the Arbab Niaz Stadium and the Rawalpindi Stadium.

“The decision has been taken after considering the facilities at the respective stadiums,” PCB director operations Zakir Khan said in a press conference here on Wednesday.

He however rejected the impression that the venues were changed due to security concerns expressed by the South African team: “South Africa has not told us that they did not want to play in the two cities.”

Though the PCB has taken the stance that poor facilities have forced them to take the decision, it is a clear fact that the security in Peshawar and Rawalpindi was on decline due to series of bomb blasts in the recent past.

Zakir said the dates of the matches would remain the same.

According to the revised schedule, first two matches will be played at the Gaddafi Stadium on Oct 18 and 20. The third and fourth matches will be played on Oct 23 and 26 at Faisalabad and Multan while Karachi will host the last match on Oct 29.

When asked that the same changes had already been speculated and published in newspapers, Zakir admitted that the PCB had been discussing the issue for some time.

The PCB director however refused to admit that it was PCB’s failure not to get the two venues ready for the series after including them into the initial programme.