Australia monitoring Pakistan situation

Cricket Australia is keeping an eye on the political situation in Pakistan ahead of Australia's scheduled tour there in February. However, no decision on whether the trip will proceed will be made until January at the earliest.

Pakistan's president Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency on Saturday but the Pakistan Cricket Board said there was no reason for cricket tours to be affected. Cricket Australia's spokesman Peter Young said it was too early to determine if Australia's tour should go ahead.

"There will be an inspection tour closer to the date, but until then we'll just be keeping an eye on things," Young told the Sydney Morning Herald. Australia are scheduled to play three Tests and five ODIs in Pakistan in February and March. The last time Australia were supposed to play Tests in Pakistan the matches were moved to neutral venues in Sri Lanka and Sharjah because of safety concerns.