South Africa to go ahead with Pakistan series in UAE

DURBAN - The Cricket South Africa (CSA) has said that next month’s series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) would go ahead as scheduled.

CSA Chief Executive Gerald Majola said that no player has expressed any reservation against taking part in the series in the midst of the ’spot-fixing’ scandal surrounding the Pakistan team in England.

“This is an official bilateral tour governed by the International Cricket Council (ICC)’s Future Tours Programme (FTP) agreement, signed by all member countries, therefore it is an ICC-sanctioned match,” The Daily Times quoted Majola, as saying.

“The ICC has not cancelled the tour and is dealing with the matter through the Anti Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU). We therefore have no reason to call off the tour,” he added.

Earlier, a British newspaper had reported that several South African cricketers were considering making themselves unavailable for the series.

“To say we are reluctant is an understatement. Nobody knows what the hell is going in Pakistani cricket and we feel that playing such a high profile series right now - especially in the middle east - is asking for trouble,” one senior player had said.

“Maybe it’s time for the ICC to step in, or for Pakistan to withdraw from the international game for a year until the mess can be cleaned up and people can start to believe in the game and develop a bit of trust,” the player added.

The series, to be played in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, would consist of two Test matches, five ODIs and a Twenty20 match. (ANI)