Rising

Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson has expressed his frustration at Cricket Australia's decision to postpone their tour of the troubled Asian country.

CA insist they had "no alternative" but to pull out due to security concerns after a series of bomb blasts in Pakistan in recent weeks - the latest of which occurred in Lahore and is reported to have killed 15 people.

Australia were due to play three Tests on the tour which was scheduled to start on March 29.

Lawson, a former Australia fast bowler, is concerned at how the postponement might affect his side and is hopeful it can be rescheduled sooner rather than later.

He said: "It is very disappointing not to have the best team playing this series, but it is better that the series has been postponed rather than cancelled.

"I hope this series is not postponed for long because Pakistan is in dire need of playing international cricket and more Test matches."

Lawson admitted he could understand CA's stance but is worried about the impact it may have on Pakistani cricket.

He added: "Cricket Australia is right in carefully considering the security situation before the tour.

"But it is a situation no-one wants to be in.

"I just hope cricket is not damaged in Pakistan because of this postponement."

Cricket Australia told the PCB they were willing to play the three Test series - which had already been put back to March 29 and shortened to just one month - in a third country.

But the PCB instead agreed to postpone the series in the hope it could be re-scheduled in Pakistan at a later date following a week of deliberations.

Australia has not toured Pakistan since 1998 with the three Test series in 2002 staged at neutral venues in Colombo in Sri Lanka and Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates.

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