July 24, 2008	Thursday	Rajab 20, 1429

KARACHI, July 23: The Australian Cricketers Association (ACA) remain unconvinced there is a safe and secure environment to hold this year's Champions Trophy tournament in Pakistan.

Paul Marsh, chief executive of the ACA, said on Wednesday security consultants hired by the International Cricket Council (ICC) and Cricket Australia had identified threats in Pakistan.

“There is a credible threat in all the major cities in Pakistan, including those which are hosting the event, and they expect bombing in the coming week. So it's what we are concerned about,” Marsh told a local channel in a telephone interview.

Marsh said the report submitted by their consultant Reg Dickason indicated that security during a majority of the recent Asia Cup held in Karachi was not up to standard, apart from the final, when President Pervez Musharaf was the chief guest.

“The arrangements for the final were accepted as a good job,” Marsh added.

“But there were number of key issues identified and our job is to make sure that what we put to our players is a safe environment and we are not convinced of what we have seen which is available here.”

Marsh said the decision by the ACA and Cricket Australia on whether to play in Pakistan or not would be taken based on the recommendation in the security reports.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Dr Nasim Ashraf said he was in touch with all the participating countries and was trying to convince them that security measures taken for the tournament were of state level and very tight.

“We just hope the ICC makes the right decision and at the moment, we are confident we will be able to host the event on schedule,” Ashraf said.—Reuters