Cricket: Pakistan will still tour - Vaughan

Justin Vaughan insists Pakistan will tour as planned. Photo / Paul Estcourt

New Zealand Cricket boss Justin Vaughan insists Pakistan will be coming here this summer and no alternative tour arrangements have been considered.

Three senior Pakistan players - captain Salman Butt and new-ball bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir - were yesterday charged with corruption and barred from all cricket. The offences carry a life ban.

The International Cricket Council says the players have 14 days to decide if they want a hearing.

With further hefty sanctions a distinct possibility in the wake of the no-ball scandal during Pakistan's fourth test loss to England last weekend, there is a strong possibility of a severely-weakened Pakistani side coming to New Zealand in December.

But Vaughan remains adamant there are no plans for a change in scheduling.

The New Zealand team return from India in mid-December and Pakistan are due to start a lengthy tour at Eden Park on Boxing Day.

"As far as we are concerned Pakistan will be here," Vaughan said last night. "They have an obligation to tour us, and that's certainly what we are planning and preparing for."

How much of a drawcard a depleted Pakistan side will be is another issue.

If the ICC sidelined Pakistan for a period of time, that would pose a significant problem for NZC.

It has commercial obligations to provide broadcasters Sky with a certain number of days' international cricket each summer.

So NZC would need to find an alternative. The options are limited.

England will be in Australia with the Ashes in full swing, while South Africa are due to host India round that time.

That leaves Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, neither of whom appeal, and Sri Lanka and the West Indies, who are also free.

But Vaughan would not go down that road.

"We haven't contacted any other countries. We've done nothing about that and there's nothing really to suggest [Pakistan won't come]."

What is not an option is having a blank window through January.

After the New Zealand team return from India, their next assignment after Pakistan's visit is the ODI World Cup on the subcontinent from mid-February.

The high-profile domestic T20 competition, the HRV Cup, will be in full swing, but that, plus the national one-day competition in January, won't satisfy the broadcasters.

But Vaughan said broadcasting plans were for Pakistan to tour.

Butt, Asif and Amir insist they are innocent but have been charged with "various offences" under Article 2 of the ICC's Anti-Corruption Code.

All three had agreed to assist police with their inquiries after News of the World allegations that a middle man accepted £150,000 ($323,399) to arrange for players to deliberately bowl no-balls during the fourth test against England.

"We must be decisive with such matters and if proven, these offences carry serious penalties up to a life ban," ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said yesterday.

"The ICC will do everything possible to keep such conduct out of the game and we will stop at nothing to protect the sport's integrity."

Pakistan's top diplomat in Britain has claimed the men were "set up", their suspension "unhelpful, premature and unnecessary,"

Wajid Hasan, the Pakistani High Commissioner in London, said he believed the trio played no part in the alleged plot and cast doubt on the video evidence.

"The video wasn't timed or dated. It could have been dated before the match or after the match, or at a different time."

However the newspaper is understood to be planning to publish further revelations this weekend.

Anti-corruption fallout
* The International Cricket Council's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit is studying 82 games involving Pakistan over roughly the past two-and-a-half years, the time alleged fixer Mazhar Majeed claims to have had involvement with players and games.

* Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir have been charged with "various offences" under the ICC's anti-corruption code and have 14 days to decide whether to appeal. They face the possibility of a life ban.

* Pakistan's High Commissioner to London claims the trio have been through "mental torture".