ECB abandon contingency plans

The ECB have announced that their contingency plans for the forthcoming Twenty20 and one-day series against Pakistan have been stood down following the Pakistan Cricket Board's commitment to honour the series.

The ECB made arrangements to cover the vast potential loss of earnings had Pakistan pulled out of the series; the West Indies were confirmed as Pakistan's replacement team, and a hastily formed International XI was also arranged in case Pakistan failed to play the Twenty20 match.

"Our contingency plan has now been stood down following the unequivocal commitment from the PCB to fulfil the remainder of the tour," David Collier, the ECB chief executive said, "and we now look forward to an exciting Twenty20 at Bristol on Monday and the five-match NatWest Series One Day Internationals.

"In particular I wish to express our gratitude to the West Indies Cricket Board, Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club and Glamorgan County Cricket Club in addition to our sponsors and broadcasters for their fulsome support of ECB's contingency plan which was actioned to ensure that we could guarantee matches throughout the Nat West Series for spectators, television viewers and radio listeners," he said.

"ECB also wishes to thank the 12 players who had agreed to play in the International XI and the management team who had been invited to support the International XI."