Rediff

Dubai, Aug 25: Next month's Champions Trophy in Pakistan has been postponed, the International Cricket Council said on Sunday.

"The ICC Board today agreed unanimously to postpone the ICC Champions Trophy... until October 2009," the world governing body said in a statement.

"Pakistan will retain the right to host the tournament but it was agreed that if other members continued to express reservations over issues of safety and security then the ICC Board would have the right to decide about the tournament's location," the statement added.

The decision followed a teleconference of the ICC's executive board.

South Africa pulled out of the eight-nation tournament scheduled from September 12-28 on Friday despite assurances from an ICC task force that acceptable security arrangements were in place.

England, Australia and New Zealand had also expressed their concerns about security after a series of suicide bombings.

On Thursday, 67 people were killed in a suicide bombing outside a defence industry complex 30 kms northwest of Islamabad.

ICC president David Morgan said in the statement: "There was complete support and sympathy for the Pakistan Cricket Board and the situation it finds itself in, which is not of its making.

"However, there was also a realisation that, under the current circumstances, some of the teams due to compete in the ICC Champions Trophy had reservations about touring there which could not be removed.

"In those circumstances it was considered prudent to postpone the event to October 2009, a time when we all hope conditions may be more acceptable for all the competing teams."