Mandela may step-in to end deadlock

The International Cricket Council (ICC) will urge former South African president Nelson Mandela to persuade the Indian government to allow its team to resume cricket relations with Pakistan.

The resolution was unanimously approved on the opening day of the two-day summit that began in Cape Town Friday. "Mr Mandela will be requested to use his good offices and convince the Indian authorities not to mix sports with politics," Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Lt Gen Tauqir Zia told Dawn from Cape Town.

"The ICC is confident that if a personality like Mr Mandela steps in, results would be positive," he said, adding: "An official request will now be sent through the ICC forum."

India cancelled two tours to Pakistan inside six months last year. But the ICC is more concerned since it has drawn India to tour Pakistan thrice in its 10-year calendar. India, according to the schedule, is due to visit Pakistan in April next year.

Pakistan is also slated to tour thrice in the next 10 years. But Islamabad has never stopped its team to either travel to India or play India in any sporting arena.

In an another major decision that would certainly please the PCB, the ICC has agreed to circulate University of Western Australia's report on Shoaib Akhtar to its recently named elite panel of umpires and five match referees.

However, the ICC has yet to recognize the university as the prime institution to judge whether the bowler throws or not. Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan was also cleared by the same university.

Lord Griffith has been appointed as chairman of the Referees Commission with three members from Zimbabwe, Australia and the West Indies. The commission will investigate penalties imposed on six Indian cricketers by Englishman Mike Denness during the second Test in South Africa earlier this year.

The PCB chairman said he met his Australian Cricket Board (ACB) counterparts who have officially agreed to participate in the tri-nation one-day series in Pakistan between Aug 27 and Sept 7. "The triangular series is now on after ACB confirmed to me regarding their participation," he said.

New Zealand will be the third team in the event to be played on a double league format with the final at Lahore. The tournament is part of Pakistan's golden jubilee of Test cricket celebrations.