PCB want England to play four-Test series in November

[Amjid Javed]

KARACHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has asked the Wales and English Cricket Board (ECB) to consider a revision of the itinerary for the England team’s tour to Pakistan later this year in November and December.

England are due to play three Tests and five One-day Internationals in Pakistan on their two month long tour but PCB sources told ‘The News’ that Pakistan wanted the itinerary to be revised.

"Pakistan has asked the ECB to consider playing four Tests and three One-day Internationals on the tour instead of three Tests and five one-dayers," one source disclosed. "Basically this request of the board is in line with their fresh thinking that Pakistan needs to play more Test matches in the calender year as opposed to One-day Internationals," he said.

PCB chief Shaharyar Khan has said number of times in the last few weeks that one of the steps to be taken to improve the senior team’s performance is to get them to play less one-day matches and more Test matches.

"I think we are playing too much one-day matches and very little Test cricket. And this is one reason why our players are unable to adjust at the top level in the Test matches," he said. Pakistan were swamped 3-0 by Australia on their tour of Australia recently while before that they managed a 1-1 draw with Sri Lanka at home.

In 2004 Pakistan played just seven Tests compared to some 27 one-dayers while this year they are scheduled to play three Tests in India, two in the West Indies and then the home series against England.

The source said that the ECB had still to respond to the PCB request which was also going to seek the help of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and ask them to use their influence with the ECB.

England last toured Pakistan in October-December 2000 winning the three Test series 1-0 and losing the one-day series. The source said the Pakistan board had also already started taking pre-emptive steps to ensure that the ECB or English players didn’t raise any security concerns before their tour.

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finally PCB use their bloody brains for once!

4 tests and 3 odis would be fine!

|-W

[shahzadddd]

I think 3 tests were just fine!

[nadeem]

TRu tru otherwise collingdale wud hav been embarrassed even more after the shattering of his 4-0 dream.

[Hash]

damn!

We definitely would have beaten them 3-0

[Fessal]

I think a 6 match test series would have been great as we would have had them knocked out that the affect would have lasted for 2 years and we would easily beat them in the comming English summer.