It is hard to remember, when Pakistan played its last full Test series against any country. March 2008 was earmarked for an Australian tour of Pakistan. But the security situations in the host country forced the Aussie cricket board take a roll back on this commitment. The series was postponed for an indefinite period, but the latter course of events, namely the terrorist attack on Sri Lankan cricketers and ICC’s decision to take the 2011 World Cup away from Pakistan, made the future of the series uncertain. Given the political situation in Pakistan and the stern attitude of ICC with regard to conducting matches in this country, any possibility of holding further international cricket matches within Pakistan is completely ruled out for the next few years. And this is what going to impact the FTP of the Pakistan cricket team. Hosting matches in the neutral venues has come as the only available solution for the PCB.

An ECB spokesperson told the cricket news media that England has always been the second option for serving as the neutral venue for Pakistan matches and it was the ECB chairman, Giles Clarke, who was the first one to introduce the idea last year. Although England lost to UAE in the race for hosting just concluded ODI series against Australia, this time the negotiations between three parties have such a point, where it is almost clear that England is going to be the venue for holding the upcoming Test cricket series between Pakistan and Australia.

“There is a lot of discussion going on between the three parties," an official involved in the negotiations told Cricinfo. "Nothing has been finalized just yet but we are getting closer to the possibility that Pakistan plays its Tests against Australia in England next year,” an ECB spokesperson was quoted saying.

However there are a few obstacles that are to be overcome. The most important relates to the itinerary. While Pakistan Cricket Board prefers a series comprising of three-Test and three-ODI series, CA’s preference goes with two Tests and two Twenty20 internationals, now working out a please-all schedule is going to be a complex affair. The English summer cricket calendar is packed with three important international fixtures:

• The Bangladesh tour of England during May-June for a Test and ODI series and West Indies tour in July and August.

• In between an Australia-England five-match ODI series is scheduled for June.

• To make the things more complex, there will be P20, an ECB innovation on the theme of IPL, which is also scheduled for the next summer and may involve international cricket players.

• Another roadblock relates to the debates over TV rights, with Ten Sports and SKY contending for the share of the pie.

But the most crucial hurdle relates to the cost factor. A cash-strapped ECB admitted that holding matches in England is going to be lot more expensive than UAE. “As it was in Dubai, the costs in the UK will be very high. That is something we really have to look at, in terms of how much revenue we will be able to generate,” a PCB official said.

Although the schedule has not yet finalized, a few English cities have been short listed as the most likely venue for the upcoming Test cricket matches. Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham are the front runners in the race as these cities have the maximum population of Asian Diaspora.

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."

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