Day International between England and the West Indies at Headingley in Leeds on Thursday was abandoned without a ball being bowled after rain made the outfield unplayable. A heavy downpour delayed the scheduled 1045 A.M. local time start (0945GMT). Although the ground was subsequently bathed in sunshine, hours later standing water remained on the outfield at the home of Yorkshire cricket. This was despite the county having spent $940,273 on a new drainage system during the off-season. It was a concerning sign for Yorkshire chiefs ahead of the fourth Ashes Test against Australia, which is due to take place at Headingley from Aug. 7-11. The second match of this three-game series takes place at Bristol on Sunday before concluding on Tuesday at Birmingham's Edgbaston ground. ICC meeting June 3 The International Cricket Council will meet with the heads of the four World Cup 2011 co-hosts – including Pakistan – next month in an effort to find a mutually acceptable solution after Pakistan was barred from hosting matches due to security concerns, the Pakistan Cricket Board said Thursday. “ICC has scheduled a meeting in Dubai on June 3 to discuss the World Cup 2011 matters in which PCB is also invited. PCB has confirmed its attendance at this meeting,” the PCB said. The PCB has already sent a legal notice to the ICC after it ruled that Pakistan would not be allowed to stage World Cup matches because of ongoing security concerns. PCB chief Ijaz Butt returned home Wednesday after meeting with officials of Sri Lanka Cricket and Board of Control for Cricket in India to find a solution to the World Cup dispute with the ICC. He described his meeting with BCCI chief Sharad Pawar as fruitful and hoped some solution will come up in the Dubai meeting. “I had very detailed discussions with Mr. Pawar and the meeting went well,” Butt said. “We decided some solution has to be worked out and we will have an out of court discussion in Dubai. David Morgan (ICC chairman), Mr. Pawar and the heads of SLC and Bangladesh Cricket Board will all be there as we discuss the situation and work towards a solution.” One possible solution could be to explore the possibility of Pakistan organizing its share of World Cup matches at a neutral venue in the United Arab Emirates. The PCB successfully hosted Australia for five limited-overs games and a twenty20 match in Dubai and Abu Dhabi earlier this month. “We will, as per the agreement we have all signed, submit a satisfactory security plan to the ICC for games in Pakistan,” Butt said.
