ICC welcomes UCB decision, proposes new protocol to govern International Cricket

The International Cricket Council today welcomed the announcement that South Africa has agreed in principle to tour Pakistan after the discussions on a revised itinerary proposed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) took place in South Africa today.

ICC President, Ehsan Mani, said that two days of discussions between the ICC, the PCB and the United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCB) provided the opportunity to get a clear and fact-based assessment of the security issues in Pakistan that has lead to this announcement today.

"Since the decision to not proceed with the tour was first announced the ICC, the PCB and the UCB have been in constant discussions about the issues surrounding this decision," said Mr Mani.

"Over the past two days, this has allowed all parties to get a considered, fact-based and accurate understanding of the security and safety concerns and of the way in which these are being managed.

"I am very pleased that through this process the Pakistan Cricket Board and the United Cricket Board of South Africa have reached this in principle agreement."

Mr Mani said that the way in which this issue had arisen highlighted an important issue about the way in which this type of situation was dealt with by international cricket.

"Clearly safety and security is the over-riding consideration for any Board and each Board must have the final say on where and when its team plays.

"In this instance though I am concerned that there appeared to be a lack of consultation within the international cricket community before the initial decision not to tour was taken.

"This meant that both the ICC and the PCB were not given the opportunity to provide relevant information to the UCB as it considered its position.

"One solution may be to introduce a cricket-wide protocol for this type of situation where any country that is facing the situation the UCB has had to deal with is obliged to consult with both the ICC and the host country before reaching a decision.

"In that way every country would retain its right to determine where and when its team plays but it would also ensure that all parties affected by its decisions would be able to have their views considered and discussed as a decision is being made.

"I will raise this for discussion at the next meeting of the ICC's Executive Board in the West Indies at the end of October."

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