The chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Ejaz Butt has said that he had a constructive talk with the Emirates Cricket Board officials and the proposed ODI series against New Zealand would be held this year.

Butt, who is in London, told Geo Super that he would officially announce the venues for the series of four One-Day Internationals and two Twenty20 matches on Monday after returning home.

“The venues, 90 per cent, would be Abu Dhabi and Dubai once again,” Butt said.

New Zealand had refused to tour Pakistan for the scheduled series in October this year because of the volatile security situation in Pakistan.

However, they agreed on the suggestion to play the ODI matches at neutral venues and host the three Tests in New Zealand in November-December.

Pakistan had already played a One-day series with Australia in Abu Dhabi and Dubai in April-May this year.

Butt visit to Emirates came after differences erupted over the hosting fees being demanded by the Abu Dhabi and Dubai cricket bodies.

After meeting with the Emirates board officials, Butt travelled to London where he held two rounds of talks with Giles Clarke who heads the Wales and English cricket Board and also leads the special task force of the International Cricket Council formed to explore possibilities for resumption of international cricket in Pakistan.

“I have had some constructive talks with Giles Clarke as well regarding our tour to England next year and also on matters pertaining to revival of international cricket in Pakistan,” Butt said.

“We discussed three to four points but since these matter is confidential, I can’t give out the details as yet,” he added.

Sources close to Butt said that during the meeting, the possibility of convincing India to resume bilateral ties with Pakistan with a One-day series in England next year was also explored.

Pakistan’s legendary fast bowler Wasim Akram is wondering why the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is not utilising his services to groom young bowlers.

Akram, who has helped Indian fast bowler Irfan Pathan, feels that he got only limited opportunities to work with Pakistani bowlers.

“I don’t know why the PCB is not utilising me. I am ready to help them. Sohail Tanveer, Umar Gul and Mohammed Aamir came to me and I helped them out. I have been telling the PCB that I don’t need a job. What more can I offer,” asks the 43-year-old former Pakistan captain.

Asked about the future of dope-tainted fast bowler Mohammed Asif, who has been included in the probables for the Champions Trophy, Akram said: “Asif has to learn from his mistakes. I also learnt from my mistakes during my playing days. He is a talented bowler and probably one of the best in Pakistan. But he will face tough competition from young bowlers like Aamir.”

Akram also felt that controversial fast-bowler Shoaib Akhtar’s international career is almost over.

“I think Shoiab has fallen out with the selectors and the PCB. But still the board gave him enough opportunities and played him in a couple of ODIs against Australia in Abu Dhabi. I think its over for Shoaib,” he said.

Akram was unhappy with the Indian cricket board’s reluctance to include a series against Pakistan in its 2012-2020 Future Tour Programme (FTP).

“It is sad that we won’t see a series between the two countries during the eight-year period. The Test series between India and Pakistan is always fun and tough,” he said.

Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Ejaj Butt said he is ready to resign if President Asif Zardari is not happy with his performance, as media reports claim.

Before leaving for Dubai, Butt told a newspaper that he was doing his best to fulfill his duties as Chairman of the board and if Zardari was still not happy, he would not mind quitting.

“I am trying to bring about improvement in Pakistan cricket with honesty and dedication but if the President is not satisfied with my performance I will hand in my resignation and go home,” Butt said.

“I have no concerns on this issue. I was given a responsibility and I am doing my best to discharge my duties,” he added.

Butt left for Dubai to meet International Cricket Council chief David Morgan and also attend an ICC meeting next week.

The meeting with Morgan is expected to end Pakistan’s resistance to the ICC moving its share of the 2011 World Cup matches to the other joint host countries — India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Pakistan had threatened to legally challenge the ICC decision to move the matches but insiders in the board have disclosed that the meeting with Morgan had been specifically scheduled to reach a compromise over the issue.

Butt, however denied that Pakistan had taken a decision not to pursue its legal action against the ICC.

Media reports have said that the English law firm hired by the PCB for the case had advised them to drop the idea of filing a legal case although Butt denied this.

He also denied that Pakistan had dropped the idea of pursuing its case with the disputes resolution tribunal of the ICC.

“We will decide on our future course of action after my meeting with Morgan. All this talk about we deciding to drop our legal challenge is premature,” Butt said.

Butt, a former Test player, has been under fire recently for his administrative abilities and the resignation of former captain Aamer Sohail last week as Director of the National Cricket Academy has given credence to rumors that Butt does not get along with anyone in the board.

Media reports said President Zardari, who is chief patron of the board, is not happy with the performance of the board and he would soon review a full report on Butt’s tenure.

Pakistan’s controversial fast bowler, Shoaib Akhtar has run into more trouble with the Pakistan Cricket Board issuing him a show-cause notice for violating the terms of his central contract with them.

Sources in the board confirmed that the show-cause notice signed by Director of Cricket Operations Zakir Khan was sent to Shoaib two days back charging him with violating three clauses of his central contract with the PCB.

Shoaib has been asked to submit his reply by July 31 and if the board is not satisfied with his reply it reserves the right to penalise him.

Shoaib told a television channel that he would give an answer after consulting his lawyers and declined to comment on the charges made against him.

This is not the first time that the fast bowler who has played just a handful of matches in the last two and half years due to fitness and disciplinary problems has been charged with misconduct by the board.

The Lahore High Court is still hearing a writ petition filed by the bowler challenging an 18-month ban and a fine of seven million Pakistani rupees imposed on him by an appellate tribunal of the board last year in June.

The appellate tribunal had reduced a five-year ban imposed by the disciplinary committee of the board early last year which charged Shoaib with violating a probation period and also the clauses of the players’ code of conduct.

Shoaib who has played 46 Tests and 144 One Day Internationals recently appeared on a television talk show and claimed that he had thought about suing the board for releasing his medical report before the T20 World Cup which was a violation of his rights.

He also accused the team management of foul play and said he had been wrongly dropped from the team for the T20 World Cup.

The fast bowler was omitted from the squad after a medical panel of the board found out he was suffering from “genital viral warts” and needed at least 12-days rest.

Shoaib was last week overlooked for a One-day series in Sri Lanka and from the preliminary squad announced for the Champions Trophy.

Lawyers have advised the Pakistan Cricket Board to drop its legal action against the International Cricket Council for taking away the country’s share of 2011 World Cup matches, local media reported on Saturday.

“(Lawyer) Mark Gay advised the board to take back the case as it was not strong enough,” daily newspaper Dawn quoted unnamed PCB sources to say.

The PCB had taken legal action questioning the authority of the ICC to make the decision, but the newspaper said PCB chairman Ijaz Butt will formally withdraw the action when he meets ICC chairman David Morgan in Dubai next week.

Pakistan was ruled out as World Cup venue after gunmen attacked Sri Lanka’s team bus and security detail during a March test, killing six police officials and a van driver. Several Sri Lanka players and officials also suffered injuries.

The ICC had already reallocated Pakistan’s share of 14 World Cup matches among three other co-hosts – India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

The three World Cup co-hosts have rejected a PCB proposal to hold Pakistan’s share of matches at a neutral venue, but the ICC has promised to give Pakistan $10.5 million as co-host.

Former Pakistan Test opener Aamer Sohail on Monday decided to step down as Pakistan Cricket Board’s Director-Game Development, creating more problems for the embattled board.

Sohail, 42, said that he was getting no ‘job satisfaction’ and so he decided to resign. The former batsman said he will revive his career as a television commentator.

“It has always been my principle in life that I have to achieve the task given to me,” he said.

“But while working with the PCB I wasn’t able to do that. There was no job satisfaction,” he added.

Sohail, who played 47 Tests and scored 2823 runs besides accumulating 4780 runs from 156 One Day Internationals, left a lucrative career as an expert cricket commentator to join the PCB as a director. But in recent times, he was not getting along with senior Board officials including chairman Ejaz Butt and director-human resource Wasim Bari.

In fact, earlier this month he was issued show cause notice by Bari for failing to attend an ICC course in London. At that time, Sohail said that he skipped the course because of his wife’s illness and instead sent one of his colleagues to England.

Sohail’s decision to quit comes a month after former chief selector Abdul Qadir, also an ex-Pakistan Test cricketer, resigned because of his differences with the Board’s top brass.

Earlier this year, Pakistan legend Javed Miandad resigned as PCB’s director-general complaining that he wasn’t given enough powers to carry out his duties. However, Miandad rejoined the PCB a few weeks later after coming to a settlement with Butt.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has sought clarification over an invitation to attend a World Cup 2011 organising committee meeting as it continues a legal challenge to being stripped of matches.

The Central Organising Committee (COC) of the World Cup 2011 meets in Mumbai on Tuesday to decide the fate of Pakistan’s share of 14 matches which were moved out of the troubled country over security fears.

“The (COC) invitation has raised certain legal issues in our mind for which we have sought clarifications from the COC and once they are addressed a decision will be taken whether to attend the meeting or not,” PCB legal adviser Taffazul Rizvi said.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) stripped Pakistan of the fixtures in April following a terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore a month earlier, leaving India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh as the remaining co-hosts.

The attacks, which left seven players and their assistant coach injured and eight people dead, ended any chance of Pakistan hosting international cricket with teams already refusing to tour over security fears.

The PCB initiated legal proceedings against the move and the relocation of the World Cup secretariat from Lahore to Mumbai.

A civil court in Lahore gave a stay order against the relocation of the secretariat and the PCB put its proceedings on hold in an effort to solve the issue through talks between the four host countries and the ICC.

But a summit in England last month failed to resolve the issue and local media reported the PCB was reluctant to attend the COC meeting as it re-started its legal case.

The ICC has ruled out the possibility of matches being staged in the United Arab Emirates, where Pakistan has previously played ‘home’ international matches.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is unhappy with the Future Tours Programme (FTP) drafted by its Indian counterpart BCCI since it does not include any bilateral series between the arch-rivals.

PCB sources said that the ICC had asked all Test playing nations to submit draft FTPs after consulting each other and the one proposed by India does not include any bilateral series with either Pakistan or Bangladesh.

“The draft proposed by India does not have any Test series against Pakistan, which is astonishing since both boards have an agreement they would play against each other once every two years in both countries,” a PCB official said.

He claimed India similarly has neglected Bangladesh and not scheduled any bilateral Test series with them.

The new FTP will be debated extensively by the ICC Cricket Committee of the ICC before it is approved.

Several new proposals, like having day-night Tests and reducing Tests to four days, will also be debated by the ICC Cricket Committee before they make any recommendations to the ICC board on the next FTP.

Sources in the board said that Pakistan was also working on a draft FTP that begins in 2012.

A PCB source said Pakistan’s biggest revenue-earning series was always against India and if no series was scheduled between the two in the next FTP, it would hurt Pakistan cricket and its revenues from broadcasting rights.

Pakistan Cricket Board has decided to award category A central contracts to senior players Mohammad Yousuf and Abdul Razzaq, who have made a return to the national team after resigning from the rebel Indian Cricket League.

Sources in the Board said PCB Chairman Ejaz Butt had approved the contracts for the two players, who leave with the national team for the Test tour of Sri Lanka on Saturday.

“Both of them have been included in the A category while no final decision has been taken on the two other players who have resigned from the ICL, Imran Nazir and Rana Naved,” one source said.

Razzaq has already represented Pakistan in the Twenty20 World Cup in England where he was sent as a replacement for the injured Yasir Arafat.

Senior batsman Yousuf returns to the team for the Sri Lanka Test series after joining the ICL late last year and subsequently being banned by the Board.

Players in the A category of the central contracts are paid a monthly retainer of 250,000 rupees besides their match and tour fees.

Meanwhile, former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik has welcomed the return of Yousuf and Razzaq to the national team and said they would strengthen the team on its tour of Sri Lanka.

Once bitten twice shy seems to be the case for Pakistan all rounder Abdul Razzaq, as he has turned down a series of county offers after making a come back in the national squad.

Razzaq returned to the international fray for Pakistan in the ICC Twenty20 World Championship after two years of suspension, after he and several other players terminated their respective contracts from the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL).

Razzaq was reportedly approached by three different counties for play for them this summer, but he refused all the offers keeping an eye on the Pakistan team’s forthcoming tour of Sri Lanka .

According to sources, Razzaq approached the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to enquire whether he would be considered for the Sri Lanka tour if he had a brief county stint just ahead of the island nation’s visit.

The PCB reportedly asked him to prepare for the Lanka tour, where Pakistan is scheduled to play three Tests, five One-day Internationals and a Twenty20 International in July-August.