Yousuf for short stint with Derbyshire

Mohammad Yousuf, the Pakistan middle-order batsman, will play four games for English county Derbyshire this season before returning home to join the training camp for the England tour.

Yousuf also made it clear that he was only playing to soak in the experience of county cricket. He said, "It is something I have not done so far, despite playing international cricket for some eight years now. And when the opportunity came along I said why not give it a try. There is no factor of me playing for Derbyshire to get prepared for our England tour."

Yousuf said he would play for Derbyshire from April 30 to May 14 in two four-day games and two one-dayers before returning home.

Mohammad Asif, the pace bowler, has also signed a contract with Leicestershire for a month-long stint in the first half of the English county season while Shahid Afridi has signed up for Ireland for a short stint. Danish Kaneria, a regular with Essex has however decided to skip the county season this year for the England tour.

The Pakistan players will be given a month's rest from cricket after the two ODIs against India in Abu Dhabi later this month, before attending an intensive month-long physical fitness and training camp for the England tour.

Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach said he would like to have the players in top condition for the England tour and then the ICC Champions Trophy in India. He said, "The long camp will allow us to have a close look at our reserve strength who have not got a proper chance as yet to be part of our training process."

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is working out plans to hire a specialist fielding coach from abroad to work with the players in this camp, that is likely to be held in either Abbotabad or Quetta because of the better weather conditions there.

The ad-hoc committee of the board has given clearance for the appointment of a fielding coach on a short-term basis to help raise the fielding standards of the players, an area that has been of some concern in the cricket circles in recent times.

The team leaves in the last week of June for Scotland to play one match before moving on to England for four Tests and five One-day Internationals.