The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Sydney

Pakistan's coach Geoff Lawson says he fears Australia will pull out of their scheduled tour due to start at the end of the month amid safety concerns.

Cricket Australia (CA) and the Australian Cricketers' Assocation will meet foreign ministry officials in Canberra on Wednesday for the latest information on the security situation in Pakistan following a spate of bombings.

CA is expected to send delegates to the nation in mid- March, but Lawson is already braced for a withdrawal.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has also warned Australia that it would take a dim view of any cancellation of the abridged tour, due to start March 29.

"The (Pakistan Cricket Board) seems to be pretty negative about (the tour), only because the correspondence they've been receiving from Cricket Australia has been negative," Lawson told The Age newspaper from Lahore.

"Pretty much everything they've heard from CA has been a hedging of bets in case they decide not to come.

"The PCB have been pretty disappointed by the comments.

"Everyone here knows there would be no problem with the tour, yet the more likely scenario seems to be that it won't happen from what we're hearing."

Australian player Andrew Symonds has repeatedly said he is unlikely to make himself available if the tour went ahead.

Lawson warned that cancelling the tour would have a disastrous effect on Pakistan cricket and create more ill feeling against the Australians.

He was particularly concerned that some Australian players were viewing a cancellation as an opportunity to grab some of the cash on offer in the Indian Premier League, which clashes with the tour.