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Aussies shun Karachi, Peshawar


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In a setback to the PCB, the visiting Australian security delegation on Tuesday shunned Karachi and Peshawar as match venues for the cricket tours of their A and under-19 teams later this year. More... Aussies shun Karachi, Peshawar PTI KARACHI, July 17: In a setback to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the visiting Australian security delegation Tuesday shunned Karachi and Peshawar as match venues for the cricket tours of their A and under-19 teams later this year. A PCB official confirmed that no matches would be held at these two venues in the coming tours. "The Australia A and under-19 teams will play mainly in Punjab and the delegation will be visiting the proposed match venues," PCB communications manager Ehsan Malik said. The six-member security delegation of Cricket Australia (CA) arrived on Monday for inspecting the venues of the two series in September and October. "The idea behind this is to visit match venues and meet with security officials to review arrangements and ensure a safe environment for our players," CA general manager for cricket operations Michael Brown said. Ricky Ponting and his men are also scheduled to tour Pakistan in February-March next year to play three Tests and five One-Day Internationals and sources said the visitors are unlikely to play in Karachi or Peshawar. The two venues, however, are part of the South African team's itinerary for September although a board official conceded that the situation could change if violence escalated. Brown said the current inspection and assessment visit was only for the Australian A and under-19 teams. Australia refused to tour Pakistan in 2002 due to security concerns and the Test and One-day games were shifted to neutral venues of Nairobi, Colombo and Sharjah. The six-member Australian delegation includes team manager Stephan Bernard, cricket manager Geoff Allardice, CA security manager Reginald Dickson, Australian Players Association chief executive Paul Marsh and biomechanics expert Daryl Foster. Karachi and Peshawar have been the target of several terrorist attacks in the past six years. Violence has escalated in Peshawar and other parts of the North West Frontier Province after government carried out a military operation against suspected Islamic militants in the Lal Masjid at Islamabad.

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