PCB clears hurdle for Akhtar

Shoaib Akhtar will be allowed to skip Pakistan’s home Test series against Bangladesh to concentrate on playing for English county Durha...

Shoaib Akhtar will be allowed to skip Pakistan’s home Test series against Bangladesh to concentrate on playing for English county Durham.

“The selectors will get a chance to try out some young fast bowlers. But Shoaib has been told to keep himself match fit,” Pakistan Cricket Board official Ramiz Raja said. The 27-year-old fast bowler will play for Durham until mid-September before returning home for a three-match test series against South Africa.

PCB to hire Foster for NCA

Australian bowling coach Daryl Foster is to work as an advisor for Pakistan’s new National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Lahore.

Story continues below this ad

“Foster is willing to come over and work as a consultant forus with the academy and other projects,” said Raja.

“He is not willing to work full time due to other commitments but has made himself available for frequent visits to Pakistan to work as consultant,” Raja said.

Foster accompanied the Pakistan team as bowling consultant to the 2001 tour of England and the 2003 World Cup in South Africa. The Pakistan board is planning to launch the NCA on the lines of the academies in Australia, England, South Africa by the end of July after having already started regional academies in the major cities.

Raja said that the Board would also invite former South African batsman Barry Richards and some specialist coaches from Australia to the NCA.

Story continues below this ad

“But since they would not be working full time in the academy, we will shortly be announcing a permanent local chief coach for the academy,” he said. (Reuters)

The Bangladesh series, also comprising three Tests followed by one-dayers, takes place in August and September.

Meanwhile, Pakistan has accepted an invitation from the West Indies cricket board to send its A team to play in the Busta Cup competition in the year 2005. A PCB official said that the senior team would also tour the West Indies for a full Test series in the same year.

“We are happy to get this invitation to send our A team to play in the Busta Cup. It will definitely broaden the experience of our young players,” Rameez Raja told Reuters. He said that Pakistan had also reached an agreement in principle with the South African Cricket Union to have an annual exchange of academy team tours.

Story continues below this ad

“We are also negotiating with the Australian cricket board to send two to three of our boys from our national academy to Australia for further training every year,” Raja said.

The launching of the NCA and its regional branches is part of a major revamping programme by the Pakistan board, which will also organise its domestic cricket from this season on a regional basis.

Investigators, including a bomb squad, combed the site. (Representational)

‘Targeted attack’: Man rams car into FBI’s Pittsburgh building gate

World1 hr ago

In a targeted attack, a man rammed his car into the FBI's Pittsburgh field office on Wednesday and then threw an American flag over the damaged gate before fleeing the scene. No FBI personnel were injured, and the suspect had previously visited the office with a nonsensical complaint. The FBI is asking for the public's help in identifying the suspect.

View all shorts

Live Blog