Pakistan have declined the offer of playing their threatened series against Australia in Morocco.

The ground at Tangier, which is currently hosting its first one-day series, had been suggested as a neutral venue for the Tests , but both the Pakistan Cricket Board and the International Cricket Conference have said that it was not a feasible option.

Waqar Younis, Pakistan's captain, admitted that he was unwilling to play so far from home. "Tangier is a great venue for cricket, but since the Australia Tests are a home series for us, we would rather play at a place where the pitch conditions and crowd support us."

That leaves Dhaka and Sharjah as the frontrunners, should the two cricket boards agree to meet on neutral ground.

Waqar's comments were endorsed by Malcolm Speed, ICC's chief executive, who was in Morocco to watch the one-dayer between Pakistan and South Africa. "I doubt if the wicket will last five days," said Speed. "I am very impressed by the facilities here, but we are only looking at one-dayers for the time being."

Speed said a final decision on where the Tests will be played rested with the Australian and Pakistani authorities, but he was hopeful that the series would still happen. "Its an important event which we all are looking forward to."

Meanwhile, Steve Waugh told the Sydney Morning Herald that he was not too concerned where the series was played, just as long as it took place. "All I know is that as players, we want to play this series," Waugh said. ""We want to play cricket. We're Test cricketers, and that's our living. We've already missed out on a couple of Tests against Zimbabwe and we don't want to miss three more. We're happy to play anywhere."

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd