Post giving up, Zim revive Pak tour

Harare

Zimbabwe cricket authorities yesterday abandoned a planned tour to Pakistan citing poor security -- before retracting their decision within 20 minutes and saying discussions were still ongoing.

Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) released an official statement saying the tour would not go ahead following recent militant violence that has revived fears after a deadly attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in 2009.

But ZC spokesman Lovemore Banda then issued a rapid apology, saying the abandonment was not confirmed.

The tour would be the first by a Test-playing nation since militants attacked the Sri Lankan bus in Lahore, killing six Pakistani policemen and two civilians and injuring six Sri Lankan players. Pakistan has been desperate to regain its status as an international cricket venue, but security concerns rose further this week when gunmen attacked a passenger bus and killed at least 43 people in the southern city of Karachi.

Zimbabwe are due to arrive on May 19 and play two Twenty20 internationals and three one-day internationals.