Pakistan to decide on legal notice to ICC next week

Pakistan on Saturday said reports that it was withdrawing a legal notice against cricket's governing body over the relocation of its share of World Cup matches were "premature".

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt told AFP a decision is yet to be taken.

Pakistan served a legal notice to the International Cricket Council (ICC) after being stripped of its World Cup 2011 matches in April this year.

"It's mere speculation that we are withdrawing the legal notice," he said. "I am meeting ICC President Mr David Morgan on Monday and Tuesday and only after that meeting we will decide about the next step."

Local media reported that the PCB was considering withdrawing the notice after their British lawyer Mark Gay said the legal grounds were weak.

The ICC last month endorsed April's decision of relocating the 14 matches Pakistan was due to host but maintained Pakistan will get the 10.5 million dollars as its share.

The ICC also ruled out relocating the matches to a fifth country -- a neutral venue such as the United Arab Emirates, where Pakistan played their recent international matches.

The Central Organising Committee of World Cup 2011 in its meeting earlier this month awarded eight of Pakistan's matches to India, four to Sri Lanka and two to Bangladesh -- a decision which Pakistan did not accept.

The ICC was forced to move Pakistan's matches following terrorists' attacks on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore on March 3.

The attacks, which left seven players and their assistant coach injured besides killing eight people, ended any chance of hosting international cricket in the country where teams were already refusing to tour over security fears.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) took legal action against the stripping of the matches and relocation of the World Cup secretariat from Lahore to Mumbai. A civil court in Lahore gave a stay order against relocation of the secretariat.

But the PCB put on hold the legal proceedings in an effort to solve the issue through talks between the four host countries and the ICC, but the talks failed in England last month.

The PCB's legal adviser Taffazul Rizvi said the PCB has the option of withdrawing the legal notice but a final decision will only be taken after the meeting between Butt and Morgan in Dubai.

"There is always the option of withdrawing the notice but a final step will only be determined after the meeting between the PCB chairman and ICC President," Rizvi told AFP.