The fate of next month's Champions Trophy in Pakistan is unlikely to be determined until Sunday, after the International Cricket Council decided to hold further talks on the vexed issue.
Following discussions between senior members of the ICC in Dubai on Wednesday, it was decided to arrange further talks before a meeting of the world governing body's board by teleconference on Sunday.
England, New Zealand and Australia are expected to withdraw from the tournament because of security fears if the event goes ahead as scheduled in Pakistan, which has suffered several terrorist incidents over the past year.
The ICC has already sent a task force to discuss the issue with all three national boards, while ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat will travel to South Africa in the next few days to explain the security measures in place to officials there.
Before then a teleconference has been arranged on Friday between ICC president David Morgan, Lorgat, ICC vice-president Sharad Pawar, representatives of the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations (FICA) and ESPN STAR Sports, the official broadcaster for the tournament.
Those discussions are expected to embrace the prospect of moving the tournament, almost certainly to Sri Lanka, for the first time to ensure participation from all the leading nations.
The confirmation of Friday's meeting is the first time moving the tournament has been seriously considered, with the ICC previously insisting there was not enough advance notice before the start of the tournament on September 12.
But ESPN Star Sports has admitted it is struggling to find staff prepared to go to Pakistan and film the tournament, while England, Australia and New Zealand remain sceptical about security even after briefings over the last week.
The ICC attempted to placate the concerned Boards by removing Rawalpindi, the scene of the assassination of opposition candidate Benazir Bhutto in December, from the itinerary and play the matches in Lahore and Karachi.
It subsequently sent task forces to Australia and New Zealand to address their players while England's one-day squad held a three-hour meeting with Lorgat, members of the England and Wales Cricket Board, and Professional Cricketers' Association chief Sean Morris in Edinburgh on Sunday.
Their fears were not resolved after that briefing, prompting Morgan, Pawar and Lorgat to meet again in Dubai on Wednesday and suggest further talks with a view to moving the tournament.