DateLine: 27th June 2009

Pakistan vowed Friday to fight for the right to co-host World Cup 2011 matches after the country was stripped of the games by the sport's world governing body because of multiple security concerns.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt told AFP they accepted the games could not be held on Pakistani soil, but were hopeful they could organise matches in a neutral country, most likely in the Middle East.

The chances of Pakistan co-hosting the World Cup vanished after gunmen ambushed the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore on March 3. The brazen attack left seven players and their assistant coach wounded, and killed eight people.

However, Butt said Pakistan was still in the running as a co-host, with its games played on neutral ground.

"We are not insisting to host matches in our country because of the security situation. It is a serious matter after what happened to the Sri Lankan team here but we will continue to fight for the matches," Butt said.

"Foreign teams are not coming to Pakistan because of security fears but we will continue to make efforts to convince the three other countries to give us matches," said Butt.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) met in London on Thursday and endorsed the April decision for Pakistan not to host matches in the World Cup, leaving India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh as the remaining co-hosts.

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

Undeterred, Butt said there were "various options at our disposal" ahead of a meeting of the tournament's Central Organising Committee (COC), which will decide how many of the World Cup matches are played in each host country.

Pakistan last week threatened to carry on with a legal fight initiated after being stripped of the matches.

(Article: Copyright © 2009 AFP)