da winzada777： The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has proposed a two-Test offshore series with Pakistan in November this year, an offer the fixture-starved Pakistan Cricket Board is considering
Cricinfo staff23-Oct-2008
Abu Dhabi could host its first Test this November if Pakistan agree to West Indies’ proposal © Cricinfo Ltd
The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has proposed a two-Test offshore series with Pakistan in November this year, an offer the fixture-starved Pakistan Cricket Board is considering.If agreed, the Tests would take place in Abu Dhabi, after the three-ODIseries between the two sides on November 12, 14 and 16. “We havereceived a proposal from the WICB about two Tests this November,” a PCBofficial told Cricinfo. “Many things have to be considered, such as the TVrights, gate money and so on. We will seriously consider the proposal.”Ijaz Butt, the newly appointed chairman of the PCB, said monetary issues needed to be sorted out before confirming the Test series.”We hope the proposal materialises and we find some sponsor for the Test matches,” Butt told . “We have to pay the West Indies Cricket Board (for the Tests) according to ICC regulations. Time is short, but I am hopeful something positive will come out.”Pakistan are likely to push for the series to happen as they haven’t played a single Test this year. But apart from the financial and logistical factors, they will have to weigh up the impact of playing a Test series once again in a neutral venue.It is territory they have covered before. In the immediate aftermath of9/11 in 2001, a number of teams refused to tour Pakistan for securityreasons. The situation compelled Pakistan to play a two-Test seriesagainst West Indies in 2002 in Sharjah and then against Australia later in the year.Increasing political instability and militant violence over the last 18months has meant that Pakistan finds itself in a similar situation.Australia pulled out of a full tour in March and the Champions Trophy, also scheduled to be played in Pakistan, was postponed to September-October 2009 after a number of teams refused to visit due to securityconcerns. If the series goes ahead in Abu Dhabi, it may well set aprecedent for the immediate future.The previous PCB administration had invited West Indies for a two-Testseries in Pakistan to fill gaps in their Future Tours Programme this November but turned down the offer as they still weren’t convinced about the security situation.