Three-man panel to review action

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has named a threeman panel to review controversial paceman Shoaib Akhtar's bowling action.

Ijaz Fakih, Abdul Qadir and Mohsin Kamal, who cleared Shahid Afridi last month, were assigned to study the bowling actions of the paceman who is one of the three players released by the team management after the one-day series which concluded in Dunedin on Wednesday.

The PCB further indicated consulting former Test fast bowlers to bail out Shoaib from the career-threatening report by New Zealand umpires Steve Dunn and Doug Cowie.

"We will try to get Imran Khan, Michael Holding and Jeff Thompson to look at Shoaib's action and give their views. Shoaib is an asset who has to be given full support and assistance," a PCB spokesman said from Lahore.

The chairman of the PCB, Lt Gen Tauqir Zia, however, didn't hide his displeasure over suspect bowling action issue and called the International Cricket Council (ICC) to end it once and for ever.

"One day Shoaib is cleared to play and the next day, questions are again raised over his action. It naturally destroys the player mentally and upsets the balance of the team," he said.

The general also took a swipe at the touring team management saying they were to be blamed for Shoaib's injury.

"He is returning home anyway because of suspect bowling action though the doctors maintain he can still play in Tests.

"But the team management was told to use him carefully and in alternate matches. But they made him play in back-to-back one-day games without realizing that he was playing after a 10-month break," he said.

The PCB boss refused to accept that Shoaib has played his last match saying: "I firmly believe he still has a lot of cricket left in him. We will try to get him cleared again and concentrate on his fitness so that he is available for selection for the tour to England in May."