November 04, 2007	Sunday	Shawwal 22, 1428

KARACHI, Nov 3: The International Cricket Council (ICC) pledged on Saturday that all possible efforts would be made to observe the sanctity of the holy month of Ramazan when Pakistan hosts the 2008 Champions Trophy edition next September.

“We are exploring avenues to make the ICC Champions Trophy 2008 not only a successful but a memorable event for the people of Pakistan,” a spokesman of the ICC told Dawn.

“Together with the Pakistan Cricket Board, we are striving to put up a grand show. Despite being an ICC event, the PCB will have a major say whatever is finally decided.”

The spokesman stressed the major issue before the game’s governing body is to resolve matters in scheduling the tournament that is widely acclaimed as the second biggest ICC tournament behind the World Cup.

“The bottom line for the ICC is to achieve our objective at all costs. The PCB is playing a key role with us to make certain the sanctity of Ramazan is maintained throughout the 15-day duration of the 2008 Champions Trophy,” he said. “A special prayers’ area for spectators at each of the match venues is in our plans plus providing them other special facilities.”

The ICC delegation, comprising Chris Tetley, Errol Stewart, Dhiraj Malhotra, Samiul Hasan and Andy Atkinson, spent a busy day on Saturday in Lahore which is one of the three venues (along with Karachi and Rawalpindi) proposed by the PCB for the 15-day tournament.

The ICC team, accompanied by PCB director cricket operations Zakir Khan and other cricket-board officials, inspected facilities at Gaddafi Stadium and LCCA Ground before leaving for the Sheikhupura Stadium, on the outskirts of the Punjab capital.

The delegation leaves for Rawalpindi on Sunday before it arrives in Karachi the next day. During their stay in the city, they will visit National Stadium, the NBP Sports Complex and the Defence Stadium.

Four-time World Cup winners Australia are the holders of the Champions Trophy by virtue of winning the 2006 edition in India last November.