da 888casino： Zaka Ashraf, the PCB chairman, has said he hopes Pakistan’s ongoing series against England in the UAE will be their last “home” series played outside Pakistan
da betobet： Umar Farooq25-Jan-2012Zaka Ashraf, the PCB chairman, has said he hopes Pakistan’s ongoing series against England in the UAE will be their last “home” series played outside Pakistan. The PCB has been in talks with the Bangladesh Cricket Board over staging a series in Pakistan in April, and Ashraf said he hoped that would set a precedent for future home series.”This England series could be our last series to be held at an offshore venue,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “We are keen to host international teams just like other member boards are doing. We are already engaged with the Bangladesh board and I am sure their tour to Pakistan in April will break the ice.”We are in contact with the [Pakistan] government as well and they have given their consent to us hosting Bangladesh to start with. They have given us their full support.”Hosting cricket at neutral venues is obviously not our first preference. It’s tough for both the board and the team; our players do miss the home advantage.”The Bangladesh board will send a security team to Pakistan to assess whether it is all right for their team to tour there. The ICC has told ESPNcricinfo it will send its own team to assess the security situation in Pakistan before sending its match officials there for the proposed series. After the Bangladesh series, Pakistan are scheduled to play a home series against Australia in August-September 2012, and then one against South Africa in October 2013.Ashraf said the PCB was also continuing to discuss the possibility of an India-Pakistan bilateral series with the BCCI. “I wrote several times to the BCCI but have found out that the Indian government isn’t giving the teams permission to play. I have written to our foreign ministry asking it to engage with India at a diplomatic level, so that cricket can be played like cricket, without politics coming in the way.”I am in talks with all the member boards, writing them letters offering opportunities to talk about our mutual interests. I have received very positive responses from all parts of the world, including from the ICC.”The Pakistan board is in the process of drawing up new contracts for its cricketers, and Ashraf said the pay scales of the players would be increased, something that has not happened for the last three years. “The new central contracts, which will be finalised this week, will offer increased pay scales for the players. This is because of the wonderful last year our team has had despite everything.”The “everything” Ashraf was referring to was the spot-fixing scandal of 2010 that occurred when his predecessor Ijaz Butt was in charge of the PCB. Though Butt was criticised for the way he reacted to the spot-fixing scandal, and for other issues pertaining to the running of the board, Ashraf said the PCB was functioning fairly smoothly when he took over in October 2011.”I don’t think the house was out of order and this is why I haven’t come up with any sweeping changes. My initial observation was that there was some communication problem and this is why we have formed a co-ordination division. I don’t see any problems now; the smooth functioning of the board is ultimately reflected in the performance of the team, and we are doing so well.”Pakistan lead the ongoing series against England 1-0 after a convincing win in Dubai.
