LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) expects a detailed reply from its its counterpart, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), by the end of the ongoing week over the arrangements to be made for hosting Pakistan cricket team from July to Sept for three Tests and as many T20I besides holding its training camp there.

The officials of the two cricket boards held a tele-conference on Monday which remained positive, according to the sources. The PCB, sources said, has handed over its requirements to ECB about the stay of the Pakistan team in England. The ECB will give a response by the end of this week.

It is learnt that the ECB is willing to hold the training camp of Pakistan in Birmingham, but there are reports that due to the lockdown in England, which was lifted on June 15 after three-months, the conditions of hotel accommodation is not entirely satisfactory.

It may be mentioned that under the prevailing Covid-19 situation around the world, the tour is a test case for both the countries, as special arrangements under bio-secure environments are the need of the hour to avoid any coronavirus cases. Though the ECB is currently hosting the West Indies under the quarantine system before going into the three Test series starting from July 8, its bio-secure system is still going through an experimental period and the results need to be seen as to how it works.

The PCB wants to send the team in the last week of June. It may be mentioned here that the two cricket boards are yet to announce the full itinerary of the tour.

Published in Dawn, June 16th, 2020