Karachi, The Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) has expressed “significant concerns” over hot weather conditions in the UAE, which can play spoilsport in the proposed Pakistan-Australia limited-overs series in the gulf state.
The ICC had recently agreed to sanction six T20Is’ in view of “exceptional circumstances”, but despite these allowances, according to sources, both countries have agreed in principle to play three ODIs’ and three Twenty20 matches in the UAE.
“The ACA continues to have concerns about the weather conditions expected in the UAE at the time of the proposed series”, Paul Marsh, the CEO, said exclusively from Melbourne.
“How wise is it to be going to a region that you know is going to get up to 45-plus at that time of year? That’s extreme heat. It’s also very humid. It’s of significant concern for us at the moment. The health and safety of the players needs to be at the forefront of any decision that is made,” he said.
With the Twenty20 World Cup in Sri Lanka scheduled to start in September, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been campaigning vigorously to hold a series against Australia to provide much needed match practice before this premier event, Pakpassion.net reports.
Due to the inability of foreign teams to visit Pakistan due to lack of security in the region, a number of alternative “home” venues were considered by the PCB.
The final choices for such venues came down to Malaysia and UAE, as the originally scheduled Sri Lankan grounds were unavailable due to domestic commitments.
It has now been learnt that the PCB has agreed to host the forthcoming “home” series against Australia in the UAE in the months of August and September 2012.
According to a source, all three UAE venues will host the six matches.
