Pakistan want to host South Africa for Test series

[winter]

Pakistan want to host South Africa for Test series

The Pakistan board is set to send a formal proposal to the South Africa board for a three-Test match series to be played after the Champions Trophy in September, as it continues its push to fill up an empty international calendar. After Australia withdrew from their tour of Pakistan for March-April, the PCB has convinced Bangladesh to play a five-match ODI series and has a host of other commitments in the pipeline, but still a hole remains in their Future Tours Programme (FTP), especially with regards to Test matches.
"We have had a verbal communication with them [South Africa] over a possible Test series and their response is encouraging," Shafqat Naghmi, PCB's Chief Operating Officer, told The News. The proposed series will be an arrangement outside the FTP.
"Our first priority is to host the South Africans for the proposed Test series in October but if because of any reason they cannot visit then we will be willing to send our team to South Africa."
Naghmi said that the PCB scanned the FTP and tour commitments of the top Test-playing nations and found that South Africa were the only leading side that had a window big enough in their FTP to fit in a Test series. According to the FTP South Africa finish a tour of England in September, visit Pakistan for the Champions Trophy in the same month and are scheduled to host Bangladesh in November. South Africa toured Pakistan in October 2007, winning both the Test and ODI series.
Australia's pull out, due to security fears, meant Pakistan were left with only three Tests (against India) in 2008. Australia were scheduled to play three Tests, five one-dayers and a Twenty20 International. The PCB could not persuade India to visit for a one-day series and their plan to host Sri Lanka is likely to be jeopardised by the Indian Premier League.

Under-15 World Cup
Pakistan delay naming Under-15 squadPakistan have delayed announcing their squad for the Under-15 World Cup, which begins in April in the West Indies, because several players were found to be overage after wrist tests were conducted on the 37 probables. The Pakistan board's junior selection committee had selected a 15-member squad with five stand-bys to be handed over to the National Cricket Academy for the confirmation of their ages.
"Yes, there is a problem as some selected players have been declared overage and we are in the process of having some remaining non-selected players tested," Col. Naushad Ali, the head of the junior selection committee, told Dawn. "We will announce the team in the next couple of days after completing the tests."
The squad was selected after holding a national U-16 tournament in which 180 players took part, 80% of whom were U-15 according to their birth certificates.
"We decided to hold the U-16 tournament to pick players both for an U-15 team as well as the academy," Ali said. "The national selection committee has also given us a list of 18 players not to be included in the academy team due to their availability for the senior team's home series against Bangladesh.
"We will form a strong academy team for the tour of Bangladesh, despite not having the 18 players [mainly Test and international cricketers]."
The academy side will play a triangular tournament against academies from South Africa and Bangladesh followed by four-day matches.




Naved-ul-Hasan 'cleared' to play for Yorkshire - reports
Yorkshire are reported to have received clearance from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for fast bowler Rana Naved-ul-Hasan to play for the county this summer despite his participation in the unauthorised Indian Cricket League (ICL). A PCB official, however, denied this was the case, and said the matter was between the county and the England board (ECB).
It had been thought that the PCB would refuse a No Objection Certificate (NOC) in view of his ICL links, and even when Mushtaq Ahmed was granted an NOC last week, it was believed that was not relevant to Naved-ul-Hasan as he had played international cricket more recently.
Naved-ul-Hasan will now have to submit his application for registration to the ECB which is unlikely to be refused if he has an NOC as the board has always maintained that the certificate was the key document in the process.
But a PCB official told Cricinfo that an NOC had not been given, though he suggested it might not be needed in this case. "Rana is not contracted to the PCB anymore and he is not allowed to play domestic cricket in Pakistan either. Therefore, this is a matter for Yorkshire and the ECB to resolve among themselves now. We have not given an NOC because he is not contracted to us, nor will he play domestically."
If Naved-ul-Hasan does play, this would seem to indicate a loosening in the policy all major countries have so far adopted against players participating in the ICL, by barring them from playing elsewhere internationally or domestically.