The International Cricket Council (ICC) and Pakistan board chiefs will meet later this month with a view to resolving their dispute over the staging of the 2011 World Cup.
ICC president David Morgan and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairperson Ijaz Butt will meet in Dubai on August 27 to discuss the distribution of 14 matches to co-hosts India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh after they were moved out of Pakistan due to security concerns.
”Although nothing has yet been agreed, there remains a strong will on both sides to conclude this matter as soon as possible without recourse to legal means,” Morgan said in a statement on Saturday.
”With that in mind we will meet in Dubai with a view to reaching a resolution that is acceptable to both parties.”
The officials spoke by telephone on Friday to help narrow the differences.
”In the light of our latest discussions I remain confident we can achieve that goal, something that would allow all of us, the ICC and its members, to focus on our key objective — the staging of a successful World Cup in the Asian sub-continent in 2011.”
Pakistan mounted a legal challenge in May after the ICC decided to move all the matches out of the country following the armed attack on the Sri Lanka team in Lahore in March.
The PCB failed in its bid to stage the matches at a neutral venue and is now eager not to lose the revenue it would have earned by hosting the matches on home soil. — Reuters