Pakistan refuse split tour

Bob Woolmer and Inzamam-ul-Haq want Pakistan to rest before the World Cup © Getty Images

Pakistan have refused South Africa's request to split their tour to the country early next year before the World Cup in the Caribbean. A report in South Africa had said that the board was keen on splitting the tour and playing seven ODIs instead, as final preparation before the World Cup, and postpone the Tests until after the tournament.

Shaharyar Khan, the PCB chairman, confirmed that such a request had been made but that Pakistan was not in favour of splitting it and wants to play three Tests and between three to five ODIs in one stretch.

Shaharyar told Cricinfo that the schedule was reviewed after Bob Woolmer and Inzamam-ul-Haq insisted they wanted time to rest. "Our management wanted to be back in Pakistan from the tour by February 12. Inzamam and Bob Woolmer both wanted to be back in Pakistan by then to make sure they had enough rest before going to the Caribbean.

"We asked the South African board to reduce the series by one Test or one ODI. It suggested splitting the tour and playing the Tests later. But I am not in favour of splitting tours so it sent a counter-proposal suggesting three Tests and between three and five ODIs. The tour now ends around February 15."

Shaharyar also spoke about problems in drafting the Future Tours Program (FTP) which schedules international series and tournaments between now and 2012. Pakistan are scheduled to play up to 54 Tests and 143 ODIs in that period though that is much less than countries such as India (74 Tests and 208 ODIs), Australia (73 Tests and 178 ODIs) and England (76 Tests and 157 ODIs).

Despite ongoing concerns about cramped schedules, Pakistan's problem actually lies in an uneven spread of commitments. For example, while they are due to play as many as 10 Tests between now and April next year and 13 Tests between May 2009 and April 2010, they will have a period between May 2008 and April 2009 when they play only three Tests.

Additionally, they are due to play at least five two-Test series in this period. The board has publicly spoken of its dislike of two-Test series in the past, as have a number of players (including Inzamam) but with apparently little success.

Shaharyar argued, however, that the FTP wasn't a final, binding document and that there was room for manoeuvre within it. "There was lots of compromise on the final program. It was only the 10th draft that everyone agreed on and it is a difficult process. Now as far as the two-Test series are concerned and the distribution of matches, I will say that there is scope within the FTP to negotiate with boards themselves. Nobody likes two-Test series so we hope to work with individual boards and maybe tinker around a few things, change the schedule a little."