The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have finally bowed to the increasingly inevitable and announced that the triangular one-day tournament scheduled for August and the subsequent Test series against Australia will not take place in Pakistan. In recent weeks the PCB had maintained that the series could proceed, but lengthy meetings with the Australian Cricket Board led them to a change of heart and it was agreed that a neutral venue was the best way forward. "The outcome of the International Cricket Council meetings, as well as Brigadier Munawwar Rana's several discussions on the sidelines of the ICC meeting with the president and CEO of the Australian Cricket Board, is that both tri-series and three-match Tests series involving Australia would take place at a neutral venue," a PCB official said.

Sri Lanka, Kenya, Bangladesh, Tangiers in Morocco and Sharjah are the front-runners and the PCB said that a decision would be made within the next fortnight.

Several Australian players said last month that they were unwilling to travel to Pakistan, and continuing violence against foreign nationals in Pakistan had raised increasing doubts over the safety of touring players. Several countries, including Australia, withdrew their diplomats fearing further attacks.

The PCB last week ruled out playing the series in Australia as their counterparts had offered them only two Tests instead of the scheduled three in October this year.

The PCB have to arrange the matches somewhere or face more crippling losses, something which would probably render them bankrupt. The PCB's demands for compensation over losses did not succeed at the ICC meeting last week, but PCB claimed the ICC had promised Pakistan additional one-day matches to recover the losses.

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd