LAHORE: The Chair of the International Cricket Council, Greg Barclay has said that cricket facilities in Pakistan and the cricket programmes are great and now that international cricket has returned to Pakistan.

Greg Barclay and Geoff Allardice, the ICC Chief Executive, visited the Pakistan cricket headquarters. This was Barclay’s first tour of Pakistan.

During the pre-arranged two-day visit, Barclay and Allardice met with the Chair of the PCB Management Committee, Najam Sethi and other PCB officials and discussed wide-ranging matters of mutual interest around cricket, including promotion, growth and development. Outside the PCB headquarters, Barclay and Allardice visited the National Cricket Academy, Lahore Fort, Lahore Museum, Safe City Project and Minar-e-Pakistan.

Greg Barclay said: “It has been great to be here. My approach has been to visit all the member countries and see how cricket and cricket administration operates in their respective jurisdiction as every country and member is different in terms of size, scale, economy and where they might sit in the cricketing hierarchy. The PCB is able to successfully deliver bilateral arrangements at home, I think we’ll see Pakistan cricket reach another level for both men and women, and that will also have a positive impact in terms of commercial upside.”

He said, “I enjoyed the briefing on the men’s and women’s cricket development plans and programmes at an administrative level and the progress that is being made. I think the future for Pakistan in terms of female participation and international successes is going to be huge in terms of potential. From the ICC’s view, given that we have a strategy to grow the game globally, to see where the PCB fits in is also very pleasing. I am going to leave here well impressed with what I have seen.”

Najam Sethi, who is also an ICC Director said, “I want to thank Greg and Geoff for undertaking this tour to Lahore, which provided both the ICC and the PCB with an opportunity to exchange views and ideas on the globally cricket ecosystem. The PCB looks forward to continuing our discussions and working closely with the ICC to put together global strategies and plans that are not only in the best interest of all its Members but also achieve the common objective of growing and developing the game by attracting new audiences.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023