Pakistan board to discuss new constitution today

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials are to meet in Islamabad later today to discuss several issues pertaining to Pakistan cricket. Since the board is planning to implement its new constitution by the end of January, it will most likely be the last meeting of the board's ad-hoc committee.

Nasim Ashraf, chairman of the PCB, will chair the meeting, which will discuss the new constitution prepared by the PCB last year. It is expected that the blueprint for its implementation will then be finalised following an approval by President General Pervez Musharraf, who is the chief patron of the PCB.

The PCB will also underline the steps to be taken over a proposed pension scheme - for which it has earmarked a substantial amount - for Test cricketers who retired before the Packer era in the seventies.

The issue of Hair's appointment in a three-nation series in Kenya by the ICC is also likely to come up for discussion in the meeting. Hair was sacked by the ICC from its Elite Panel of umpires in November last year after Pakistan demanded his removal following the Oval Test fiasco. The ICC's recent announcement that Hair will be officiating international matches in Kenya came as a surprise to the PCB.

The PCB will also decide its course of action on the basis of recommendations received from various quarters during a national cricket workshop held in Lahore last year.