May 21  
Aussies to tour Pakistan if ACB give go-ahead: Steve Waugh

SYDNEY: Australian Test captain Steve Waugh says he is willing to tour Pakistan, but won't raise the issue when he meets the Australian Cricket Board to discuss his contract on Tuesday. The 36-year-old said if the ACB asked him to go to Pakistan he would. The question would then be what sort of side Waugh would lead.

His brother Mark as well as team-mates Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and vice-captain Adam Gilchrist have all expressed reservations about touring Pakistan. Their reluctance to travel will probably force the ACB to rearrange their second successive series after they aborted the recent trip to Zimbabwe because of security concerns following elections.

There has been speculation the series might be played at a neutral venue in the Middle East or north Africa. Sharjah have offered to host a Test series between Australia and Pakistan. Waugh has faith the ACB and the Pakistan Cricket Board will make the right decision, saying he would be on the plane to Pakistan if that's what the ACB decided. "I'll support whatever the ACB recommend," he said on Monday. "I'm sure they (ACB) would have done their homework -- and yeah, I would (go)."

The tour, scheduled for September-October, has been thrown into disarray since 14 people were killed in a bomb blast outside the Karachi hotel of the touring New Zealand team earlier this month. Of more immediate interest to Australia's Test captain will be his place in the one-day team.

Dropped from that team on the recent tour to South Africa, Waugh will be looking for some clarity on his one-day future. "I have a contract meeting tomorrow and I'll probably get a good gauge as to how they see me with regards to one-day cricket and Test cricket," Waugh said.