Shoaib still on tour, battling to regain fitness

Shoaib Akhtar is struggling to regain fitness in time for the Second Test against the West Indies starting on Friday, as wildly conflicting news reports about the Pakistani speedster are denied.

Pakistan team manager Khawaja Mohammad Nazir told Associated Press today that Shoaib was with the team in Barbados. He was encouraged by a workout Shoaib had in the nets on Sunday morning and was hopeful that he would be available for the Second Test at Kensington Oval, Barbados.

The news of Shoaib's battle for fitness leaves two reports appearing in leading Sunday newspapers across the world in its wake.

"Dawn" (Karachi) had reported in its Sunday edition that Shoaib had been released by the team management on Friday as he had failed fitness tests.

The "Sunday Telegraph" (London) claimed that Shoaib had been withdrawn from the current tour match against West Indies A at the request of the ICC, who were said to have requested to view footage of the one match that he has played on the Caribbean tour to date.

Sir Clyde Walcott, chairman of the ICC Cricket Committee, is reported today by AP as saying that this "was not the case", and that the ICC had "cleared Shoaib as free to play".

Shoaib has played just one match in the West Indies, bowling seven overs in the third one-day final on April 23 and taking 2/31. His place in the current match against West Indies A has been taken by Shabbir Ahmed.

Though not an original member of the tour party, Shabbir has been in Jamaica receiving coaching from Michael Holding to correct his bowling action, and has been retained in the Caribbean by the Pakistan management to play in the tour matches. Today he took 3/55 against WI-A in their second innings, but was expensive in his eleven overs and gave up five wides and three no-balls.