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Pakistan cricket chief issues future tour warning

30/11/2008

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt has warned of a potential split in world cricket if teams stop touring on the Asian sub-continent.

Terrorist attacks in Mumbai have threatened England's scheduled Test tour of India in December, while Pakistan has already seen a decrease in teams willing to travel to the country to play because of security fears.

Butt now worries that a two tier system could develop where England, Australia and other countries only play each other because of their security fears, leaving the Asian sides to only lay each other.

The PCB chairman said if teams are unwilling to tour his country then Pakistan would withdraw from touring other countries as a protest.

"If certain countries play separately with two sets of rules it will be a dangerous situation," Butt told BBC World Service's Sportsworld programme.

"It's a mutual thing. If they don't come we won't go. You cannot have separate pockets with England only playing Australia."

Butt wants the International Cricket Council and its members to meet to try and resolve the situation and get a concrete agreement put in place.

He added: "We have to agree something. It has to be with all Test countries. You can't have four Test countries playing each other and the other four playing separately as well.

"To continue to not participate in cricket in this part of the world in India and Sri Lanka, then it will be very difficult."

Pakistan were due to host the Champions Trophy one-day tournament in September before too many countries pulled out because of security fears and it was postponed.

The Pakistan Test side have not played since December 2007 and the latest attacks in Mumbai are now threatening India's scheduled tour of their neighbours in January.