Pakistan push for Test tour

PAKISTAN’S cricket chairman has opened discussions with new Cricket Australia chief executive Kevin Roberts in a bid to facilitate the first tour of Pakistan by an Australian team since 1998.

Ehsan Mani hasn’t given up on convincing Australia to make a historic return in February next year for five onedayers, and says Pakistan’s reputation for being unsafe is now a perception rather than a reality.

Cricket Australia appear committed to finding a way to bring international cricket back to the region, but it’s understood taking that bold step next February is highly unlikely at this stage.

No Australian team has travelled to Pakistan since Mark Taylor’s memorable 334 not out made 20 years ago.

Since the 2009 bus attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore, Pakistan has been forced to play in front of empty stadiums in the UAE and limited overs cricket has only started to return in the past couple of years to the cricket-mad nation.

Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and West Indies have played limited white ball cricket in Pakistan since 2015, and the likes of Tim Paine and George Bailey travelled there last year for an international XI match against Pakistan.

New Zealand recently declined to play Test cricket in Pakistan, and Australia is now likely to follow suit.

However, Mani says he is hopeful a resolution can be found as he opened dialogue with Roberts in the UAE over the past few days.

“We touched on it, but he’s not the CEO for another week or so, so it would be unfair to throw this at him,” said Mani.

“I’m sure he understands the issues.”