Lahore, May 22 : The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is mulling over a proposal to host Australia in Ireland or Scotland, as the expense of hosting a series in England is too high.

The PCB is already in discussions with its English and Australian counterparts for hosting two Tests and two T20's games against Australia in England, but the exorbitant costs has forced the cash-strapped board to look at other options.

"There are proposals from Scotland and Ireland and we are seriously looking at them," a PCB official said.

"They are cheaper than the options in England, which are quite high, in terms of accommodation and travel," he added.

The cricket boards of both Scotland and Ireland have confirmed an interest in hosting the matches.

"We clearly wanted to throw our hat into the ring for any match, whether it was a Twenty20, ODI, or a Test match, because it''s an excellent opportunity to host Pakistan, and potentially to play against them as well," Chief Executive of Cricket Ireland, Warren Deutrom said.

Chief Executive of Scotland Cricket, Roddy Smith said now it was upto the PCB to decide whether it wants to host the series here or not, as stadiums in both the countries are much smaller than those in England and also the Asian population is not same as in in England.

"It all depends on the economics, we can''t provide a 15-20,000-seater stadium, our grounds are nearer 4000-5000. The ball is in the PCB''s court, so we''ll wait for firm discussions and proposals on both sides," The News quoted Smith, as saying. (ANI)