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KARACHI, Sept 30: The ignorance of the people running the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Lahore secretariat was exposed Sunday when Cricketers Benefit Fund Series (CBFS) revealed that New Zealand will be one of the teams in April's Sharjah Cup.

The director of the PCB, Brig Munawar Rana, had said Friday that New Zealand's tour cannot be rescheduled in April as the Black Caps would be hosting England.

"Pakistan will be playing in Sharjah in mid-April and at that time New Zealand will also be hosting England. So we will have to work out when the series against New Zealand can be rescheduled," Rana had told a news agency Friday.

Probably, the PCB official is also unaware of the fact that England complete their New Zealand tour on April 3 after arriving there on Feb 8.

The point to be emphasised is if the PCB official doesn't know who will be their opponents in Sharjah and when New Zealand are free, how he can convince New Zealand Cricket (NZC) to reschedule the tour according to Pakistan's convenience.

The PCB has blindly accepted NZC's proposal to visit Pakistan in August-September. If the tour materializes, it might lead to disaster as the players would be burnt out by the time the World Cup begins in South Africa in February 2003.

From August to the World Cup in February, Pakistan is already committed to appear in the ICC knockout tournament, host Australia before proceeding to Africa where they will play Tests in South Africa and Zimbabwe. To be precise, Pakistan would have played 11 Tests and around 25 One-day Internationals, including three Tests and as many One-day Internationals against New Zealand, if situation allows.

On the contrary, New Zealand, between August and February's World Cup, would have appeared in the ICC knockout tournament and hosted India in December.

A glance at the 10-year plan reveals that top countries will be playing limited cricket in build-up to the prestigious World Cup.

Australia would have toured Pakistan and hosted England and Sri Lanka while South Africa would have hosted Sri Lanka and Pakistan. India has been planned to play a home series against the West Indies in October before proceeding to New Zealand in December.

Had the PCB secretariat done their home work, they would not have fallen pray to NZC's trap.

© Dawn