The International Cricket Council and Pakistan Cricket Board have settled a dispute over the staging of the World Cup 2011 that was moved out of Pakistan due to security concerns.
According to the agreement, reached in Dubai by the ICC President David Morgan and Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Ijaz Butt, Pakistan will retain its host fees and will receive compensation for the loss of hosting rights.
Pakistan lost the right to host international cricket matches after militants attacked Sri Lankan cricketers on their way to play a Test match against Pakistan on March 3 in the city of Lahore.
“I am glad we were able to come to an amicable agreement and I believe this is a fair resolution for the PCB and the ICC,” Morgan told reporters.
“This resolution is good for world cricket and provides an improved platform for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 as we now have a degree of certainty surrounding the event that was not there while the dispute was ongoing,” Morgan said.
The PCB’s Butt also expressed satisfaction with the agreement.
“The PCB is content with the settlement that has been reached,” Butt told reporters.
He said his top priority was to ensure that cricket in Pakistan “not be allowed to suffer unduly and I believe this agreement is the best possible outcome for the game.”
India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are the co-hosts of the World Cup 2011.
The 14 World Cup matches that Pakistan would have hosted will be divided among the three nations at an ICC meeting in Johannesburg next month.
