Sonn: Pakistan tour goes ahead

Percy Sonn talks to the media in London © AFP

Percy Sonn, the President of ICC, has said he has had assurances from the PCB that the remainder of Pakistan's tour of England will go ahead as planned.

With the ICC announcing that the hearing into the original charges of ball tampering and bringing the game in disrepute will not be heard until the second half of September, it opens a way for the Twenty20 International and five-match one-day series to proceed. However, Sonn stopped short given a total guarantee over the future of the matches.

"The PCB have always said they were going to continue with the series if they could have," Sonn told the press conference in London. "Ever since last Sunday this matter has been marked by unfortunate and entirely avoidable over-reactions. Everyone must try to switch attentions to on-field action once more.

"I have had a meeting with PCB chairman Shahriyar Khan and ECB chairman David Morgan and I have been assured the tour continues as scheduled. I have no reason not to take him [Shaharyar] at his word."

"This is between ICC and Darrell Hair," said Zaheer Abbas, the team manger. "It doesn't concern us. Our biggest issue is that we want to play in front of British crowds and we decided that at 9.30 this morning. He [Hair] backed out of what he said to the ICC, the offer. He says one thing and then another. What he is thinking and how it will affect us I do not know."

In recent days it had been reported that the Pakistan players were unhappy about playing with the charges hanging over their heads, but earlier on Friday they began to travel to Bristol to prepare for Monday's Twenty20.

The ECB have made contingency plans for an International XI to play Monday in the event of a Pakistan no-show and have had discussions with other nations about stepping in should Pakistan abandon the one-dayers. It is estimated that a cancelled one-day series would cost the ECB £10 million.