Tight security will be in place for the South African team

Officials have conditionally accepted a revised itinerary put forward by the Pakistan Cricket Board, which no longer includes games in Karachi and Peshawar.

The United Cricket Board (UCBSA) cancelled the tour last weekend after a bomb explosion in Karachi.

But the Management Board has now agreed to allow a shortened tour to take place, although security arrangements will be under constant review.

Full details of where matches will now be played are still being discussed by the two boards.

We are discussing the options available, of venues and dates PCB chief executive Rameez Raja

The PCB were hoping to salvage a full complement of three matches in each format.

But PCB president Lt Gen Tauqir Zia told the BBC Urdu Service that they were now proposing two Tests and five one-day matches.

"Now we hope they would start the tour from Thursday next week," he commented.

Lahore and Faisalabad are the likely choices to stage the Tests originally scheduled for Karachi and Peshawar.

But Zia said he would not sanction Tests being moved away from the two cities in future.

"We had assured them of the best possible level of security at both places. Bangladesh played Test and one-day games in Karachi and Peshawar and there was no problem, none whatsoever.

"It is proof that the situation is absolutely fine there."

UCBSA chief executive Gerald Majola said they had always been committed to making every effort to ensure the tour could go ahead.

Majola: The safety of the squad is paramount

"The tour is important to both Pakistan and to South African cricket and we are sympathetic with the disappointment expressed in Pakistan when the team's departure for Karachi on Sunday had to be called off following a bomb in that city on Friday.

"We appreciate the PCB's compromise on an abbreviated tour, and that compromise is indicative of the continuing good relationships between our two boards," he said.

Graeme Smith and Eric Simons, the captain and coach of the South African team, have been informed of the Management Board's decision.

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A member of the Board will travel with the squad throughout the tour and the UCBSA has reserved the right to abandon the tour again should the level of risk "deteriorate to an unacceptable level".

The International Cricket Council has welcomed the South African u-turn but expresssed concern about the haste with which the original decision was taken.

"I am concerned that there appeared to be a lack of consultation within the international cricket community before the initial decision not to tour was taken," said ICC president Ehsan Mani.

"One solution may be to introduce a cricket-wide protocol for this type of situation where any country that is facing the situation the UCB has had to deal with is obliged to consult with both the ICC and the host country before reaching a decision.

"In that way every country would retain its right to determine where and when its team plays but it would also ensure that all parties affected by its decisions would be able to have their views considered and discussed as a decision is being made."