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Zim could host Pakistan/Australia cricket series

Sport
Zimbabwe, Malaysia and South Africa are among the countries Pakistan are considering as options to host their limited-overs series against Australia in August. Pakistan has had to play their home series in neutral venues since the attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in March 2009. The series was set to be held in Sri […]

Zimbabwe, Malaysia and South Africa are among the countries Pakistan are considering as options to host their limited-overs series against Australia in August.

Pakistan has had to play their home series in neutral venues since the attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in March 2009.

The series was set to be held in Sri Lanka, but Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) pulled last week due to a clash in the series schedule with the first season of the Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL).

The PCB said final decision on the venue will be taken within a week.

“It was indeed a setback to our plans when Sri Lanka pulled out,” Intikhab Alam, PCB director international cricket, told reporters in Lahore.

“But they have their own reasons and we have no problem with it, however, and have been searching for alternatives. Malaysia, South Africa and Zimbabwe are the options we have marked. A decision will be taken within the next one week.”

It is, however, highly unlikely that the series will be held in the country as Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) have already indicated they will be relaying pitches at Harare Sports Club and Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo.

This resulted in the postponement of Bangladesh’s tour to the country which had to be moved from August this year to April next year.

“We have requested (the BCB) that the series be moved to October from August,” Ozias Bvute, ZC’s managing director, said about the postponement. “This is because we want to work on our wickets and squares in Harare and Bulawayo. They have been very flat over the last few years, so we want to make them livelier. We were supposed to do this work earlier, but because South Africa are visiting for five T20s in June, we can only do it later.”

In March this year, the SLC had agreed in principle to host the series. At that time, there had been no decision on the SLPL.

Pakistan and Australia are due to play five ODIs and three T20s internationals against each other. While the United Arab Emirates has been Pakistan’s usual “home” venue since then, the venue was ruled out due to the extreme heat and the month of Ramzan.