June 17, 2008	Tuesday	Jamadi-us-Sani 12, 1429

LAHORE, June 16: A 10-member delegation of the International Cricket Council (ICC) led by its president Ray Mali is arriving here on Tuesday (today) to inspect venues of the ICC Champions Trophy, starting from Sept 11.

Matches of the Trophy will be played in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi.

Members of the delegation who arriving are Chris Tetley, Errol Stewart, Bruce Ewan, Lorinda Rugless, Sybil Fernandes, Jackie Crooks, Sami-ul-Hasan, Aarti Dabas and Andy Atkinson.

David Richardson, the acting chief executive of the ICC will join the delegation on Wednesday.

They will inspect the arrangements at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, on Tuesday (today), Rawalpindi Stadium on Thursday and National Stadium, Karachi, on Friday before going back on June 21.

The delegation will also attend the Champions Trophy official launching ceremony at a hotel here on Wednesday.

Since Gaddafi and Pindi Stadiums are under construction, it will be an uphill task for Pakistan to get the venues ready on time.

The ICC will approve Pakistan as the host of the event in its meeting to be held in Dubai on June 29.

Furthermore, the issue of some countries’ reluctance to play in Pakistan over security concerns will also be discussed in the meeting.

After this visit, the ICC will be in a better position to give its presentation to the countries which are reluctant to play in Pakistan.