KARACHI, July 11: The Pakistan Cricket Board received unexpected words of comfort from Cricket Australia which said that the violence-hit South Asian nation, which is hosting the Champions Trophy, was not the only place in cricketing world which it has security concerns.

CA Spokesman Peter Young said even though they still have security concerns in sending their players to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy in September, security assessments were not Pakistan-centric and his Board had done such exercises even before going to England.

“We have had reservations regarding the safety and security in Pakistan but we have that wherever we travel these days. The world is an increasingly uncertain place and we have to make these security assessments even before going to England,” Young told a local tv channel on Friday.

He denied reports that CA and Australian Players’ Association had set any deadline to decide whether to play in Champions Trophy, and said they would first study the report of their security consultant Reg Dickason before taking any decision.

“We ourselves are making security assessments. We are more interested in the process and in being sure about the safety of our players then the actual timings of our decision.”

”We need to see Dickason’s report and we need to understand from the ICC what their evolving process continues and says,” he said.

”The situation in Pakistan is not totally stable and we are all saddened at the recent bomb blasts this week.

We continue to maintain that safety and security of our players remains our top priority,” Young added.

Australia and New Zealand are the two countries which have reservations over playing in Pakistan because of the security situation here and their cricket boards recently sent a security expert, Reg Dickason, to Pakistan to assess the security arrangements during the Asia Cup.

Dickason met security consultants of the ICC during his visit to Pakistan and is due to submit a report to Australian, New Zealand and England boards in a week’s time.

Young also made it clear that CA will not force any of its players, who have genuine concerns, to tour Pakistan.

“We continue to maintain that safety and security of our players remains top priority wherever we send them. We have to see if the tournament goes and we hope it does. We will have to send our best team,” he said.

Meanwhile, the thought of going to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy is giving jitters to his team-mates, Australian all-rounder Shane Watson says he is so desperate to keep his place in the side that he would not mind ignoring security concerns to play in the troubled country. Watson, whose history of injury breakdowns came in the way of his cementing a slot in the Aussie team in the past, has blossomed into a consistent match winner off late pulling of man-of-the-series winning performances in the recent Indian Premier League (IPL) and the ODI series against West Indies.

And the 27-year-old is no mood to halt his remarkable run by pulling out of the mini World Cup due to security concerns. “I’d go anywhere, I’d play anywhere,” he was quoted as saying in The Australian.

“I just want to play for my country, that’s what I’ve worked so hard for. I’ve been through some up-and-down times over the last year, so I’d do anything to play for my country, so wherever I have to go I’ll go,” he added.

Watson said he himself has been left amazed by his recent form as only a few months ago, the only future he could visualise for himself at this time of the year was a county stint in England. “It’s just been so great to be part of the Australian team again. It’s been an interesting last year and to be able to be here now, to be part of a winning team and to play a big role in it is something I wasn’t expecting at all. I was expecting to be in England playing county cricket,” Watson said.

The lanky all-rounder said his stint in the IPL helped him raise his fitness level and get back in groove after a prolonged injury layoff.—Agencies