da betobet： The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) is committed to sending a team toPakistan next year
Haydn Gill29-Apr-2001The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) is committed to sending a team toPakistan next year.But it is yet to receive a response from Pakistani authorities,according to the board’s chief executive officer Gregory Shillingford,who says it is an issue that ultimately has to be settled between thetwo boards.His comments come against the background of reports from Karachi thatthe Pakistan Cricket Board had asked the International Cricket Council(ICC) to intervene and convince West Indies to undertake a scheduledtour early next year.I have been in discussions with the Pakistan authorities and we haveoffered them to come to Pakistan in 2002, Shillingford said.They have not replied to that and at the end of the day, matters haveto be settled between the two boards. Going to the ICC will notresolve the matter.West Indies were originally scheduled to visit Pakistan in Februaryand March next year before engaging India and New Zealand in homeseries between April and June.Earlier this year, the WICB joined the other Test-playing nations inagreeing to the ICC’s Test championship programme.The board is committed to the programme, but Shillingford said at thelast ICC meeting, it tried to resolve matters that caused concern interms of the feasibility of some of these tours.It’s a commitment which can be reviewed. Nonetheless, we agreed inprinciple to the ten-year programme, the WICB chief executive said.We are committed to the four-year and five-year cycle of reciprocaltours and we will honour that commitment.The ICC programme was devised to allow all ten Test teams to play eachother on a home and away basis. Pakistan feel that if the West Indiesdo not make the tour, it could result in heavy financial losses, aswas the case last year when India opted not to make a scheduled tour.Pakistan were also planning to host the West Indies in 1999, but thattour did not materialise either.