Airport official claims equipment was left behind in hotel

There's a new twist to the saga of the Pakistan team's missing equipment, with South African website News24.com quoting an official of the Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA) as saying that it had not been checked-in but left behind in the team hotel.

The luggage was reported missing on the team's arrival in Johannesburg, where the Pakistan team was playing the fifth and final match of the one-day series. Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach, had told Cricinfo that he'd seen the equipment - worth between US$15,000 and 20,000 - being checked in during the team's departure from Cape Town and that the team had the relevant baggage tags.

However, Solomon Makgale, the ACSA spokesperson, said that a thorough investigation on Wednesday morning by the airport authorities revealed that the players and support staff had not checked in their baggage but had left it behind in their Cape Town hotel.