Cricket: ICC board to decide Champions Trophy fate on Thursday 21 Jul, 2008 © AFP
 A Pakistani paramilitary soldier stands guard outside the National Stadium in Karachi The International Cricket Council will decide Thursday whether Pakistan can host the Champions Trophy in September amid security fears in the country. A teleconference of the ICC executive board "will take place on Thursday to take a decision on Champions Trophy," an ICC spokesman told AFP on Tuesday. The year's biggest one-day tournament features the top eight Test nations -- Australia, South Africa, England, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and the West Indies. It is scheduled to be held in Pakistan September 11-28. But Australia, England and New Zealand have raised concerns about security in Pakistan, which is battling militants in tribal areas where Washington has said Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants have created sanctuaries. The ICC held a meeting on Sunday at its Dubai headquarters to inform the teams of the security arrangements made by Pakistan in the Asia Cup in June-July and its plans for the Champions Trophy. Pakistan held a peaceful six-nation Asian event from June 24 to July 6. However, a suicide bomb blast in capital Islamabad earlier this month killed 19 people and a series of small bombings rocked the port city of Karachi, which renewed security fears. Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi are home to the three Trophy venues. Sri Lanka, the designated alternative venue for the tournament, is also facing renewed violence between Tamil Tiger rebels and government troops. South Africa and England have been tipped as potential alternate locations for the event. | 
