No 2011 England tour for Pakistan

London: Pakistan will suffer the first fallout from the spot-fixing controversy this week when ICC chief executives meet in Cape Town. They are expected to be told, politely but firmly, that they will not be returning to England next season.

England was going to be Pakistan's second home as long as the security situation in their country was desperate, according to the original plan of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

The Pakistan-versus-Australia Test series held this summer was intended to be the first of several neutral series staged here. But in Cape Town it is believed that the ECB's chief executive David Collier is not going to offer Pakistan the same facilities for 2011, as a consequence of the recent decline in the tourists' popularity.

Earlier this year, the ECB had hoped that Pakistan would play India in this country next summer, which would have been a real money-spinner as the two countries meet so seldom and have such large and passionate followings.

However, such fixtures are neither possible nor desirable after three Pakistan players were suspended by the ICC while they are being investigated by Metropolitan Police. There is a small window for a one-day series between Sri Lanka — the other country to tour England next season — and Pakistan to be staged in this country in July. But disappointing attendances for many of Pakistan's games this summer, and the controversy involving Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, with the possibility of more charges to follow, have led to the official change of attitude towards Pakistan's future.

Unfriendly welcome

Butt, Asif and Amir returned to a largely unfriendly welcome in Lahore on Saturday but Shahid Afridi, who led Pakistan at Headingley on Sunday in the second of five one-day Internationals, insisted that the cricket-watching public must not judge them — or Wahab Riaz who will also be questioned by police this week.

"Wait for the result," said Afridi. "The PCB [Pakistan Cricket Board] and ICC will take some action if things happened. The guys are still not [proven] guilty," he said.

"We are good cricketers and want to maintain our respect, and that is gained by playing good cricket. After a victory, the respect will come again."