KARACHI, Pakistan (CMC):

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said yesterday they had invited the West Indies to play a two-Test series here in November, in an attempt to compensate for the postponed ICC Champions Trophy.

"We have formally invited the West Indies board to send their team to play two Tests in Pakistan immediately after the three-match One-day series ends in Abu Dhabi," Shafqat Naghmi, the PCB's chief executive, told the Times of India.

Volatile atmosphere

The request comes after the International Cricket Council was forced to postpone the Champions Trophy because of volatile political atmosphere in the country, which led to serious security concerns.

Naghmi said the postponement had created a vacuum in the country's cricketing calendar and had also been a blow to the PCB's finances.

"This left us in the unusual situation of having scheduled just one Test series in 2008 (against Australia), and that too against a country that has not toured Pakistan since 1998," he said.

"We are hopeful the West Indies will respond positively or else this year we just have the one-day series in Abu Dhabi and a Twenty20 four-nation event in Toronto in October."

The PCB indicated they were also in discussions with New Zealand to arrange a series in December. They attempted to organise series with South Africa and Sri Lanka but these plans fell through.