Pakistan to lose home advantage

Pakistan announced on Sunday that a tri-nation tournament and a Test series it planned to host later this year will now be played outside the country.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) ruled out hosting the tri-nation series involving Australia and New Zealand in August and the Test series with Australia in October.

"The outcome of the ICC [International Cricket Council] meetings, as well as Director PCB Brigadier Munawwar Rana's several discussions on the sidelines of the ICC meeting with President and CEO of the Australian Cricket Board, is that both tri-series and three-match Tests series involving Australia would take place at a neutral venue," a PCB statement said.

Sri Lanka, Kenya, Bangladesh, Tangiers in Morocco, the Gulf and England are the likely venues and a final decision is likely to be made by mid-July, the PCB said.

The ICC last week ruled out England as one of the options to stage Pakistan's one-day tournament.

Australia's two tours to Pakistan have been thrown in serious doubt over fears of safety for the players in and around Pakistan.

New Zealand had to cut short its tour of Pakistan in May after a suicide bomb blast outside their hotel in Karachi. Fourteen people, including 11 French naval engineers, were killed in the attack.

Another blast outside the United States Consulate earlier this month left 11 people killed while security fears persists with several Al-Qaeda suspects believed to be hiding in Pakistan.

"PCB is still pursuing the Aussies to play in Pakistan. Aussies are awaiting clearance from their Foreign Office," the PCB said.

However, the ACB has reportedly yet to receive a positive response from their Foreign office in Pakistan as diplomats from major countries, including Australia, have left the country fearing attacks.

According to ICC rulings, a series hit by security problems can be staged at a neutral venue if both the countries agree.

The PCB last week ruled out playing the series in Australia as their counterparts had offered them only two Tests instead of the scheduled three in October this year.

Cricket has been hit badly in Pakistan since the September 11 attacks in the US and the crackdown against Al-Qaeda units in Afghanistan since then.

New Zealand postponed its tour last year only to see the re-arranged tour cut short by a bomb blast in May this year.

Pakistan was forced to play its home series against the West Indies at Sharjah in February-March this year after West Indies refused to tour Pakistan over security fears.

Pakistan's demands for compensation over losses did not succeed at the ICC meeting last week, but PCB claimed the ICC had promised Pakistan additional one-day matches to recover the losses.