Latif urges SA to play

Pakistan captain Rashid Latif has appealed to South Africa to play cricket in Karachi and Peshawar on their tour later this month despite se...

Pakistan captain Rashid Latif has appealed to South Africa to play cricket in Karachi and Peshawar on their tour later this month despite security concerns.

‘‘There is absolutely nothing wrong in these two cities. We have just played Bangladesh in Tests in Karachi and Peshawar and everything was fine. I don’t think the South Africans should expect any problems,’’ Latif said today.

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Bangla: Enter Sami

FAISALABAD: BANGLADESH, yet to win a match on tour in Pakistan, will face a full-strength Pakistan side including fast bowler Mohammad Sami in the third one-day international in Lahore on September 15. Before that game the two countries meet for the second one-dayer in Faisalabad on Friday. Chief selector Aamer Sohail said on Wednesday that Sami had been given clearance by doctors to make himself available for the third one-day game. “We are also expecting Shoaib Akhtar back from England in time for the fifth and final final one-dayer in Karachi on September 21,” Sohail said.
“Hopefully by the time the final match is played we will have both Shoaib and Sami spearheading the attack with Umar Gul and Shabbir Ahmed as back-up.” Sohail also said that from the third match onwards there would be no more experiments in the Pakistan side as the best possible combination for the series against South Africa starting later this month would be finalised.

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The United Cricket Board (UCB) of South Africa, acting on advice from its government, has told the Pakistan board it wants matches shifted from the southern port city of Karachi and Peshawar, close to the Afghan border. The UCB is sending security experts to Pakistan before the tour for talks with the Pakistan Cricket Board and police.

Pakistan has been a no-go zone for many cricketing nations since the September 11, 2001 attacks when its government’s backing of the US sparked a backlash from Islamic militant groups who targeted Western interests.

A suicide bomber in Karachi in May 2002 killed 11 French naval technicians outside a hotel where the Kiwis were staying.

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