ICC not to appoint officials for Pakistan-Zimbabwe series

Dubai, May 17: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Sunday said it will not appoint match officials for Zimbabwe's tour of Pakistan.

Zimbabwe are scheduled to play Pakistan in two Twenty20 Internationals on March 22 and 24 and three One-Day Internationals (ODI) on May 26, 29 and 31. All matches will be played at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

"The ICC today advised the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) that it will not be appointing its match officials for the upcoming series between Pakistan and Zimbabwe. The ICC’s decision has been made after receiving a report from its security consultant," said an ICC statement.

"The ICC Board, during its April meeting, had decided that the playing conditions relating to the appointment of match officials could be waived to allow the PCB to appoint local match officials for this series should the ICC decide not to send its umpires and referee due to the current security situation in Pakistan.

"If this was to occur, the matches would still be considered 'official cricket', even though they will not be played strictly in accordance with the ICC standard playing conditions. The umpire and referee appointments will be announced by the PCB shortly."

International cricket in Pakistan came to a halt in 2009 when a Sri Lankan cricket team came under a terrorist attack in Lahore. No cricketer, however, was killed but some of them were injured.

Zimbabwe will be the team first team to visit the Asian country since the attack.