The South African cricket team arrived in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Tuesday, with 150 elite commandos guarding the airport after the tour was nearly cancelled over security fears.

The squad, comprising 14 players and 13 officials, arrived in the early hours of the morning and was immediately whisked away to the hotel under heavy police escort.

The South African high commissioner in Islamabad, Moosa Moolla, greeted the squad and told reporters he was happy his team had finally arrived in Pakistan.

"I hope they have left behind whatever has happened in the last few weeks and we can look forward to some exciting cricket now," he said.

The South Africans initially cancelled the tour due to general concerns over security, and in particular a bomb blast in an office building Karachi which caused no casualties. A time bomb on a passenger bus in the same city injured 13 on Saturday.

But last week they agreed to go ahead with a curtailed tour when Pakistan dropped the southern port city of Karachi and Peshawar, near the Afghan border, from the itinerary.

Pakistan has been a no-go zone for most cricketing nations since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States and a wave of attacks on Western, Christian and local targets has been blamed on Islamic militants.

NEUTRAL VENUES

In May 2002, a suicide bomb outside a Karachi hotel where the New Zealand team were staying prompted a cancellation of the tour and both West Indies and Australia refused to tour Pakistan last year, playing instead at neutral venues.

India called off a tour in April this year because of tensions over the disputed state of Kashmir.

"We are providing VVIP security to them as they are our honoured guests and we will ensure nothing goes wrong," deputy superintendent of police Saleem Zia Agha said at the Lahore airport.

Before the arrival of the South Africans, 50 commandos and plainclothes police officers searched the team hotel with metal detectors and sniffer dogs.

The South Africa tour, which starts with a practice match in Lahore on Wednesday, ends with five one-day internationals and two Test matches.

South Africa squad: Graeme Smith (captain), Paul Adams, Mark Boucher, Alan Dawson, Boeta Dippenaar, Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Hall, Jacques Kallis, Charl Langeveldt, Neil McKenzie, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini, Robin Peterson, Shaun Pollock, Jacques Rudolph.

Veteran opener Gary Kirsten will join the team after the one-day series for the two Tests, replacing medium pacer Alan Dawson.