PCB chief to meet ICC officials at Lord's

PCB chief to meet ICC officials at Lord's

Karachi: Pakistan's cricket chief Ijaz Butt is expected to meet top International Cricket Council (ICC) and English board officials on the sidelines of the 2,000th Test that will feature England and India at Lord's later this week.

The details of a proposed visit of an ICC task force to Pakistan are expected to be hammered out in the meetings, according to a report in The News on Monday.

The PCB chairman is likely to meet ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat and Giles Clarke, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) boss, who heads ICC's Pakistan Task Team (PTT) in London later this week, the report said.

"All three of them will be part of ICC's celebrations being planned in connection with the 2,000th Test," said a source. "Though nothing has been finalized yet, it is believed that Butt, Lorgat and Clarke will meet in London to discuss the details of a proposed PTT visit to Pakistan. There are strong chances that the trip will be finalized sometime this week."

PCB and ICC are at loggerheads following a comprehensive report filed by PTT that included 63 recommendations for the upliftment of cricket in Pakistan.

Pakistan rejected most of those recommendations and declared that the PTT report was merely a "scholarly exercise" and asked for more "Pakistan specific" recommendations.

Pakistan also questioned the credibility of the report by stating that PTT members did not even bother to visit the country before finalizing their report that calls for sweeping changes in the way the sport is run in this country.

PTT, which was formed to revive international tours of Pakistan and to help boost the game in the country which has been rocked by last year's spot-fixing scandal, includes cricket greats like Mike Brearley and Greg Chappell and former Pakistan Test opener Ramiz Raja.

Following PCB's strong criticism, reports suggested that Clarke and company were ready to tour Pakistan.

"The main item on the agenda of any PTT visit to Pakistan will have to be a meeting with Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari," said a source. "So whether or when such a trip can take place will depend on a green signal from the President House," he added.

PTT members want to meet Zardari because he yields enormous influence as PCB's chief patron. In fact, the president's role in Pakistan's cricket affairs is the biggest bone of contention between the PCB and the ICC.