SYDNEY, June 11: Australia looks set to host a three-match Test series against Pakistan because of fears for safety on the subcontinent, an Australian Cricket Board official said .

ACB chief executive James Sutherland will meet Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials this week to discuss the possibility, an ACB spokesman said.

“Playing in Australia will be one of a number of options,” he said.

PCB officials are here for a three-game limited overs series starting on Wednesday in Melbourne.

Pakistan remains hopeful of staging a one-day series against Australia and New Zealand, followed by the Test series against Australia, but the volatile security on the subcontinent seems certain to force the matches to be played elsewhere.

Captain Steve Waugh and star bowlers Shane Warne and Glen McGrath have already said they do not want to tour.

Pakistan manager Yawar Saeed said nothing would be decided until the end of June.

“All we would like is for the cricket must go on, there mustn’t be a starvation of cricket,” he said.

“Whatever the boards decide, we are quite happy to play wherever they decide.”

Several neutral venues, including Sharjah and Morocco, have been put forward, but International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive Malcolm Speed said Australia would be given first choice if the series were switched from Pakistan.

“Our current rules say the first option is to go to the visiting country and see if it can be played there. If the tournament can be run at a profit, we would like it to go ahead,” he said from London.

Only a handful of people watched Pakistan play the West Indies in Sharjah last year and it was feared a neutral venue for Pakistan-Australia would be a money-loser.

Reports in the Australian media Tuesday said the one-day series looked set to be played in late August through September in Cairns, Brisbane and Perth, with the Test series in Brisbane, Sydney and Perth in October.

Australia have not lost a Test series at home for 10 years, winning or drawing their last 14 series.

But this did not worry Yawar. “I don’t think one should be looking in life for advantages all the time, one should be prepared to fight it out wherever one has to play.”

Pakistan captain Waqar Younis said that he hoped Australia’s tour to Pakistan would proceed as planned despite their security fears.

“I would love to play the series in Pakistan,” he said. “It all depends on both boards. It’s fine (in Pakistan) at the moment.

“Things are getting better.”

He said Pakistan and India’s strained relations were depriving the world of some great cricket Tuesday.

“I would love to play against them but things are not really working out between the countries and the politicians,” Waqar said.

“The world is missing a great game of cricket between Pakistan and India... let’s cross our fingers and see that things will get better.”—AFP/Reuters