Pakistan confirmed as Trophy hosts

ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat will meet with the ECB to discuss its concerns

Buy this photo

The International Cricket Council has confirmed that the forthcoming Champions Trophy will take place in Pakistan - but have made a concession by reducing the number of venues from three to two.

The move to expunge Rawalpindi from the schedule had been expected and leaves the matches spread between Lahore and Karachi, reducing the travelling involved and thereby the possibility of flashpoints in the politically unstable region.

The decision means England’s second and third Group B matches against New Zealand and South Africa originally at Rawalpindi will be moved to Lahore and Karachi respectively.

The New Zealand game will now take place two days earlier than originally scheduled on September 17 in Lahore before England travel to Karachi to face South Africa on September 21.

England’s group opener against Sri Lanka on September 14 remains in Lahore.

Meanwhile, delegations will be sent to ease the concerns of England, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Worries still remain over the safety of players and officials but each of the four countries will have their concerns addressed by an ICC delegation, with chief executive Haroon Lorgat leading the group heading to Britain to meet England and the touring Proteas.

ICC general manager David Richardson will head the team visiting Australia and New Zealand.

Former ECB chairman and current ICC president David Morgan said: “Our desire is to ensure that every stakeholder is content with arrangements and is comfortable with the ICC Champions Trophy taking place in Pakistan.

ICC president David Morgan announced: "We are committed to a safe and secure event in Pakistan"

Buy this photo

“To that end, it was agreed that representatives who have attended the latest briefings and demonstrations in Lahore and Karachi will visit stakeholders who have expressed reservations to let them know of the safety and security measures on the ground.

“The results of those meetings will then be fed back to me and also to the ICC vice president Sharad Pawar and ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat on 20 August so we can make a further assessment of the comfort levels of our participating members.

“We are committed to a safe and secure event in Pakistan. We believe these visits and the feedback we get from them will play a major role in us achieving those ends,” he added.

Lorgat went on explain the decision to remove Rawalpindi from the slate.

“During the recently completed Asia Cup there were no fixtures at Rawalpindi and that didn’t allow us the opportunity to check the security arrangements, so there has been no way for us to formulate an opinion on the venue.

“We believe that by excluding Rawalpindi and using just two venues - both of them successful hosts during the Asia Cup - it will remove doubt, allow a further concentration of resources and thus improve comfort levels for all stakeholders in the event.”

Lahore will stage eight of the tournament’s 15 matches, including the opener between the hosts and West Indies, on September 12, the second semi-final on 26 September and the final two days later.

Karachi will stage the remaining matches, including defending champions Australia’s opening match, against India, on September 13.

ICC Champions Trophy fixtures (65 KB)