By Adam Cooper
July 24th 2008 @ 7:21am
Concerns over integrity of Champions Trophy
Cricket Australia (CA) fears the integrity of the Champions Trophy will be further damaged if held in Pakistan and countries either refuse to attend or send under-strength squads.
The 10 full-member nations of the International Cricket Council (ICC) will tomorrow vote on whether the tournament is held in the strife-torn nation amid concerns over the safety of the country following the release of damning security reports.
Players from Australia, New Zealand, England and South Africa have voiced concerns about playing in Pakistan in September.
South Africa, Sri Lanka and England have been touted as alternate venues should the ICC decide to shift the event.
But with a 7-3 vote majority needed for any change in action and with India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh all likely to vote in support of their Asian neighbour, some member nations could be forced into confronting a dilemma.
The boards of Australia, England, New Zealand and South Africa will have to choose between not touring and sending depleted squads.
They could even face financial sanction from the ICC for not sending sides to the tournament, which is marketed as the biggest event outside the World Cup but which has had its struggles for credibility in recent years.
CA today refused to say which way it would vote at a teleconference to be held tomorrow night Australian time.
But spokesman Peter Young said CA feared the tournament’s credibility would be tarnished if Australia, the defending title-holder, and other countries decided against attending or sent under-strength squads.
“It’s a hypothetical question that we don’t know until we find out whether the tournament will be played in Pakistan,” he said.
“But we’ve always been of the belief that international cricket is all about the best versus the best, and to do anything else would compromise the brand and the reputation of cricket.”
CA has already stated that players who decided against touring Pakistan because of safety fears would not face selection repercussions in the future.
Captain Ricky Ponting and teammates Andrew Symonds and Matthew Hayden have all admitted reservations about touring Pakistan.
Australia scrapped a planned Test tour to Pakistan early this year because of security concerns, and has not visited the country since 1998. That series was rescheduled to 2010.
Australia are scheduled to play one-day internationals there next year.
Free Email updates:
Our daily emails are only sent if there is content for the sport or that author. You can subscribe to multiple daily emails; or get the daily Roar email with all our content in it. We value privacy. More...
