ISLAMABAD: Pakistan cricket great Javed Miandad says an opportunity for the nation to host its first cricket series since last year’s terror attack on a touring Sri Lankan side fell through because the head of the cricket board forgot about it.

Five limited-overs matches were planned for the southern port city of Karachi in from Feb. 10-24 against an all-star West Indies team led by former test captain Richie Richardson, Miandad told The Associated Press on Monday.

“Everything was finalized, even the tentative dates of the tour were set,” said Miandad, who is also a Pakistan Cricket Board director general.

But he said when he asked Ijaz Butt for the final approval, the PCB chairman had “simply forgot.”

“Mr. Butt asked me ‘which tour? I don’t know’ and to this I was simply shocked,” Miandad said.

The all-star West Indies team was to include former cricketers Curtly Ambrose, Mervyn Dillon, Carl Hooper, Stuart Williams, Wavell Hinds and Franklyn Rose.

Miandad said fellow PCB officials — chief operating officer Wasim Bari, director of cricket development Haroon Rasheed and Butt — had all helped organize the matches against the all-star team before it eventually fell through.

“Had we organized five matches against the all star West Indies team we would have given a positive signal to the world,” Miandad said.

Pakistan had been a virtual a “no go zone” for foreign sporting teams after gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore in March 2009. Several Sri Lanka players were injured and six policemen were killed in the attack.

Pakistan subsequently lost its 2011 World Cup hosting rights and the PCB was forced to organize its “home” series against Australia and New Zealand in the United Arab Emirates.

The working relationship between Miandad and Butt became strained after the PCB chief alleged the Miandad was paid a taking a huge salary of one million rupees ($11,750) a month.

Miandad denied the claims and said he was paid just more than half of the amount Butt had claimed.

“The former test players like me are the jewels of Pakistan cricket and we want to serve our country to the best of our abilities.”

Miandad played 124 tests from 1976 to 1993, amassing 8,832 runs, and batted in 233 one-dayers scoring 7,381 runs. He also coached the national team three times.

Miandad has already written a letter to Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, who is also patron of the cricket board, urging him to replace Butt as PCB chief.

He had said that 71-year-old Butt had become too old for the position as he “seldom remembered his own important official commitments and agreements.”