Pakistan announce Australia series schedule

KARACHI: Pakistan Thursday finally announced a limited over series schedule against Australia, delaying the matches to late in the evening to avoid the heat in the United Arab Emirates, the cricket board said.

Pakistan had to search for the venue for the series after Sri Lanka refused to host the matches as they clashed with their premier league season.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) also considered Kuala Lumpur and Malaysia, which was ruled out over the danger of monsoon rains.

But Australian Cricket Association fears over excessive heat in the UAE were allayed by scheduling the day-night matches as late as 6pm.

"The matches will be held in the UAE from 28 August until 10 September. The series will comprise three one-day internationals and three Twenty20 internationals," the PCB said in a statement.

The series starts with a one-day match in Sharjah followed by two other 50-over matches in Abu Dhabi on August 31 and in Sharjah on September 3.

The three T20 matches will all be played in Dubai on September 5, 7 and 10.

Pakistan has been a "no go" zone for international teams since March 2009 terrorists attacks on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore, which left eight people dead and wounded seven visiting players and their assistant coach.

Pakistan has since had to play its home games in neutral venues such as the UAE, England and New Zealand.

Even before the 2009 attacks, teams including Australia have refused to tour Pakistan in the wake of 9-11 attacks on the United States. Australia have not toured Pakistan since 1998.

Programme:

Ist one-day August 28 - Sharjah

Second one-day August 31 - Abu Dhabi

Third one-day September 3 - Sharjah

Ist Twenty20 September 5 - Dubai

Second Twenty20 September 7 - Dubai

Third Twenty20 September 10 - Dubai