Australia appear on the verge of pulling out of next month's Champions Trophy in Pakistan due to security concerns in the strife-torn country, according to media reports today.

The move to give the tournament a miss with just three weeks to go for the tournament came after it was revealed that last week's meeting with the International Cricket Council(ICC) failed to ease players' fears regarding security in Pakistan. Australian players and officials met with an ICC delegation in Melbourne last week.



"Our position is that we can't recommend the players tour Pakistan for the Champions Trophy," Australia Cricketers' Association chief Paul Marsh told "The Daily Telegraph." Besides the defending champions--Australia--, participation of New Zealand, South Africa and England also appear in doubt after all the three convened for similar meetings with the ICC in the past week.

Australia is expected to await the outcome of those meetings before making a formal decision.