Task Team’s visit unlikely

No signs of an immediate visit, says ECB.

LAHORE:

The International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Pakistan Task Team (PTT) visit of the country after its report was questioned faces a bleak future as Ijaz Butt’s recent meeting with PTT head Giles Clarke and ICC chief Haroon Lorgat may have forced the issue to be put on the side.

There were reports that the PTT has decided to visit Pakistan after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) questioned the credibility of the report by stating that the members did not even bother visiting the country.

However, The Express Tribune has learnt that the PCB was neither informed of any plans of the PTT’s visit nor does it see any purpose of visiting after the report has been published. The reports emerging of a visit in the future was also squashed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

“We’re not aware of any plans to visit Pakistan in the near future,” said an ECB spokesperson Andrew Walpole.The details of the visit were expected to be chalked out on the sidelines of the 2,000th Test that took place between the hosts and India but nothing has been revealed of the meetings.

Clarke was also reported to meet President Asif Ali Zardari with a request to reduce the political interference in the cricket board.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 26^th,  2011.