Doubts Persist Over Champions Trophy

Ponting - not convinced.

The ICC may be forced to go back on their word and move the Champions Trophy to Sri Lanka after a special task force struggled to convince players from Australia and New Zealand that Pakistan is a safe venue.

The governing body sent a task force to both countries to brief the players and administrators on the security arrangements in place for the tournament, which is scheduled to get underway on September 12.

But the presentations appeared to have failed after Australia captain Ricky Ponting gave an uncertain response and New Zealand Cricket Players' Association Heath Mills admitted that he still had concerns.

"We've heard what they had to say, we're a lot more informed now than we were before the day started and there's obviously some decisions to be made in the next few days," Ponting told Cricinfo after the meeting.

"The concerns are still there, of course. There have been lots of things said that are going to be put into place and let's hope those things are put in place to an appropriate level."

Ponting admitted that the uncertainty over whether his side would travel or not was hampering their preparations for the event, at which they will defend their crown.

"We're only three weeks away from one of the biggest one-day tournaments that we play and we still don't know if we're going," he said.

Meanwhile Mills admitted that the Kiwis were still concerned about their safety in spite of the talks, which were attended by 22 of New Zealand's contracted players. A television station has reported that the Taliban are planning suicide attacks in Lahore and Karachi - the only two cities scheduled to host the Champions Trophy.

"In all honesty, nothing I heard yesterday has allayed our concerns," Mills told the same website. "It was an interesting meeting, an active meeting. It went for a while.

"There is no question about the effort put in by the Pakistan Cricket Board and the Pakistan government, the security plans are outstanding. They're the best we've ever seen for cricket.

"But the fact is they are unproven and we don't know if the plans can be delivered. We need to see them demonstrated. The threat in Pakistan is real. There's a lot of political instability and we've seen more reports of activity by the Taliban."

The ICC delegation has been headed by their general manager David Richardson, who has refused to rule out moving the event to Sri Lanka.

"We're very short of time now," Richardson said. "If we're going to relocate now it needs to be made within the next few days.

"Operationally it would be difficult, but it's certainly not an option that would be discarded at this point and it could be relocated."

Essentially all parties are waiting for someone - and particularly Cricket Australia - to make a decision. Only once they have given the green light will the individual players need to confirm their participation.

"I haven't got a decision to make until Cricket Australia make a decision," Ponting said. "It's a hypothetical question - I think the [players] that you've probably heard from before [might not go]. But we'll wait and see what happens in the next few days."