ICC announce new trophy dates

(GETTY IMAGES)

The International Cricket Council have rescheduled the Champions Trophy tournament in Pakistan which was postponed this year due to security concerns.

It will now take place between 24 September and 5 October, 2009 with the matches being played in a single city in Pakistan, rather than the two which were proposed for this year's aborted version.

The tournament will be staged over 12 days, including one reserve day for the final - making it five days shorter than the originally scheduled event.

The rescheduling of the Trophy was agreed at the ICC's board meeting in Dubai, which concluded today after two days of talks.

ICC president David Morgan is happy the new dates fit into the Future Tours Programme for 2009 and remains confident that Pakistan can stage an "outstanding" tournament.

"We are delighted to have slotted the ICC Champions Trophy into the FTP in 2009, thus maintaining the primacy of ICC events, and we now look forward to staging an outstanding, memorable event next September/October," Morgan said.

"The ICC Champions Trophy is part of a host of great ICC tournaments taking place next year, including the ICC Women's World Cup, the ICC World Cup Qualifier and the ICC World Twenty20 for both men and women.

"All these events during the ICC Centenary year will showcase cricket in the best possible light and will help to ensure that our great game remains a strong sport growing stronger."

ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat added: "I'm hugely encouraged by the spirit of togetherness and teamwork shown by our members in ensuring we have found a place for the ICC Champions Trophy in next year's calendar.

"The tournament, with its new format of the top eight teams playing in a short, sharp event, is vitally important for the world game because it allows those members, as well as the developing cricket world, to grow the sport.

"It is part of the ICC's commitment to the game and we can now look forward to a great event next year."

A full schedule for the tournament and the host city will be announced at a later date.

The ICC hope India's tour of Pakistan early next year will reassure players and sponsors thats security issues have been resolved.

Initially, the event was due to take place last month, but a spate of bombings in the country earlier this year raised fears the safety of the competing teams could not be guaranteed.

Despite the ICC announcing in July the Trophy would go ahead as planned, it was then postponed the following month after South Africa withdrew and players from England, Australia and New Zealand were advised against travelling by their players' associations.