Court criticises Shoaib for no show

Shoaib Akhtar is once again in trouble after he failed to appear in court in Lahore to answer a petition demanding an apology for criticisms he had levelled at Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram.

"Akhtar or his lawyer must appear in the court on September 1 and respond to a petition against his newspaper interview," Judge Mudassar Umer Bodla said. "A new summons will be issued against him."

The petition was filed by a local who was angered by comments allegedly made by Shoaib in an interview with the London-based Guardian newspaper. Shoaib was quoted as saying that if he played for Australia then he would have been far more successful. "Imagine if I was playing with Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie softening them up, then I come on, I'd have got more wickets than anyone ever. Because when I play for Pakistan, with Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis they are in decline. They were great but they're not match-winning bowlers any more. So I have to make it all happen on my own."

Akhtar, who has dismissed the petition as a "publicity stunt", is unlikely to attend the revised date as he will still be playing for Durham.