PCB wants 2011 WC appeal head by CAS

PCB wants its appeal against the shifting of the 2011 World Cup matches from here to be heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sports instead of the ICC's Disputes Resolution Committee.

The Pakistan Cricket Board wants its appeal against the shifting of the 2011 World Cup matches from here to be heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sports instead of the ICC’s Disputes Resolution Committee in the “interest of fair-play and justice”.

“Since it was the ICC executive board that decided to shift the World Cup matches from Pakistan,we feel that it is appropriate and just that our legal challenge is now heard by an arbitration tribunal of the CAS instead of the ICC dispute resolution committee,” a PCB official said on Tuesday. He said Pakistan considers the ICC executive board decision totally unjust and discriminatory and would fight the legal battle to the end.

“We have hired a law firm in the UK for this purpose and they have sent the letter to Michael Beloff QC,President of ICC Disputes Resolution Committee,to refer the matter to arbitration tribunal appointed in accordance with the rules of Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) to be held in United Kingdom,” the official said.

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The ICC board decided on April 17 in Dubai to shift the World Cup matches from Pakistan due to security reasons more than a month after the Sri Lankan cricket team was attacked by suspected militants in Lahore. The 14 matches have already been distributed among the other host nations,India,Sri Lanka and Bangladesh while the central organising committee of the World Cup has also been moved from Lahore to Mumbai.

“We don’t agree with this ICC decision which is in contravention of ICC Articles of Association and also to the Host Agreement of 2006 whereby the World Cup was awarded jointly to India,Pakistan,Sri Lanka and Bangladesh,” the official said.

“As time is of essence,PCB expects ICC to expedite the matter,” he added. Meanwhile,PCB’s chief operating officer Saleem Altaf has not ruled out the possibility of the 2011 World Cup matches that were taken away from Pakistan being held in Dubai. Altaf told a sports website that Dubai could well host the World Cup matches that were allocated to Pakistan if the ICC sticks to its decision of snatching away the rights of the troubled nation as a co-host.

“When we talk,there are several things that come up. And off shore venues is one of those things that can be considered. In that sense,matches (allocated to Pakistan) being held in Dubai is a possibility,” Altaf said. Pakistan recently played its one-day series against Australia in Dubai and Abu Dhabi after the Aussies refused to come here because of security concerns.