PCB to continue legal battle with ICC

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) says it will continue its legal battle against the ICC on the issue of hosting the 2011 World Cup after high-level talks at Lord's today proved inconclusive.

The four host nations of the 2011 World Cup met for the second day on Saturday following the PCB's threat of legal action after Pakistan was stripped of hosting rights due to the security situation in the country. There was no statement from the ICC but the PCB said it was disappointed at the results of the meeting. The matter will now be discussed at the ICC's annual board meeting next week.

Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, said he was disappointed those organisational issues surrounding the World Cup remained unresolved and added that the legal proceedings the PCB has brought against the ICC would continue. "I had hoped and expected the support of my Asian co-hosts in resolving these organisational difficulties," he said. "I am deeply disappointed that no progress was made despite the intervention of both the ICC president [David Morgan] and vice-president [Sharad Pawar].

"This means that rather than harmony amongst the co-hosts of the 2011 World Cup we will have disagreement and legal dispute. I do hope that they will reconsider their unreasonable stance so that the legal dispute can be resolved and a hugely successful World Cup organised in 2011."

The ICC reiterated last week that Pakistan would not host matches in the 2011 tournament because of the security situation in the country but the PCB would be recognised as hosts and retain fees from its original allocation of 14 matches. ICC president David Morgan had said the ICC would consider outsourcing Pakistan's matches to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, though co-hosts India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were keen to have the matches remain in the subcontinent.