Pakistan in negotiations with Rhodes

Jonty Rhodes is widely thought of as one of the best fielders to have played the game © Getty Images

The PCB is currently in negotiations with Jonty Rhodes to hire him on short-term basis to help improve their fielding before the tour to England this summer.

"A PCB official is in South Africa at the moment negotiating with Rhodes. It hasn't been decided yet - we will know more about it by Monday. It will not be a permanent assignment as at the moment we are looking at it only as an appointment specifically for the England series," an official told Cricinfo.

According to the PCB, the aim is for Rhodes to work with the Pakistan senior and `A' team. "We want him working with senior players before they tour England and also work with our younger players at the National Cricket Academy (NCA)."

Rhodes played 52 Tests and 245 One-day Internationals between 1992 and 2003 and is widely recognised as one of the best fielders to have played the game.

Though Pakistan have enjoyed a stellar season, defeating England, India and Sri Lanka in Test series at home and abroad as well as winning two of the three ODI series, concerns have been raised over the standard of their fielding. Despite showing initial improvement when Bob Woolmer was first appointed, standards have remained inconsistent since and reached a nadir in the ODI series defeat to India, particularly in the final game at Karachi.

That performance, which some of the team management conceded was the worst in the field for some time, sparked off the search for a fielding coach. Rhodes' name was mentioned a few times immediately after that series though, ultimately, only a bowling coach, in Waqar Younis, was hired.

Bob Woolmer, who has first-hand experience of Rhodes's skills from his time as coach of South Africa in the 90s, has also spoken to him about the assignment. Having informed him of the prospective dates for any stint, Woolmer is now awaiting a response from Rhodes.