Reprinted from Caribbean Net News
caribbeannetnews.com

West Indies to play three tests, five ODIs in Pakistan
06-16-2006

KARACHI, Pakistan (Reuters): West Indies will play three tests and five one-day internationals in Pakistan in November and December, a Pakistan Cricket Board official said Thursday.

"The tour is confirmed, however the itinerary will be finalised later due to some logistical reasons," PCB official Subhan Ahmed told Reuters.

Pakistan's efforts to confirm the itinerary will be delayed until the outcome of the ICC Champions Trophy being held in India between Oct 7 to Nov 5 becomes clearer.

West Indies have to play in the qualifying rounds of the Trophy from Oct 7 to 14 to make the main rounds for which Pakistan are seeded.

The West Indies have also asked the PCB to schedule the one-dayers first, but Ahmed said Pakistan wanted the tests played first to avoid the winter season weather disruptions.

"In the last two series against England and India we lost a lot of time due to bad light. The floodlights also don't improve the light. So it would be better to have the tests first."

He said the PCB would use five venues -- Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan and Faisalabad -- to host all the matches.

West Indies' last tour was in 1997/98 as they refused to play in Pakistan in 2002 because of security reasons in the wake of the Sept. 11 incident. That series was shifted to Sharjah.