ODI series against Australia on schedule: PCB

Karachi:

Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ejaz Butt has rubbished speculation that the one-dayers against Australia could be postponed or cancelled owing to lack of arrangements, insisting that the matches will go ahead as scheduled later this month.

Reacting to media speculation about the series scheduled to start from April 22, Butt said all arrangements were on track and the two Cricket Boards had also reached a memorandum of understanding on the matches which would be played in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

"There is no way the series will now be postponed or cancelled we will have the first match on April 22," he asserted.

"Hopefully in next two days we will announce the sponsorships for the series. It is true that due to the global economic recession we were not able to sell sponsorship rights in a bundle," he said.

However, Butt said the board had secured different sponsors for the series which had to be shifted to the Emirates as Australia declined to send its team to Pakistan on security grounds.

He said the Australians were now more or less satisfied with the security plan for the series.