ICC: Official arriving tomorrow

Karachi, Feb 24: The chief executive of the International Cricket Council, David Richards, is arriving in Rawalpindi on Saturday on a two-day visit, a spokesman of the Pakistan Cricket Board said from Rawalpindi on Thursday.

The board official said Richards will arrive in Rawalpindi on the first day of the opening Test and will hold discussions of bilateral interest with chairman of the PCB Lt-Gen Tauqir Zia. No agenda has been prepared for Richards visit, the official added.

"Whenever an official of ICC comes, several topics come up for discussions like development, promotion of the game etc," the spokesman said. He added that as a matter of policy, the board has decided to come out of shell and make its presence felt at the ICC level.

"We don't want to remain sitting in isolation as has been the case in the past. We want to talk to other officials and develop a relationship of goodwill with everyone," he said.

Richards last visited Pakistan during the controversial 1994-95 series between Australia and Pakistan. Richards was also scheduled to visit Pakistan last month to inaugurate the coaching clinic that was organized by the ICC's Asian Development Officer Nasimul Ghani.

But he cancelled his tour a couple of days before the three-day clinic was to open. The board official said the PCB has also extended invitations to all the chairmen and chief executives of the boards but only Richards had confirmed his visit.