CricInfo Home
News Home

NEWS FOCUS
Rsa in Pak
NZ in India
Zim in Aus

Domestic
Other Series

The suspense drama surrounding the Pakistan team for next month's tour to England ended late Saturday evening when Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) named a 17-man squad, including former captain Wasim Akram.

The PCB caught the cricket scribes wrong footed after saying earlier in the day that the announcement would be made next week after non- consensus on the composition of the squad was reached.

The team, which was undecided until 7.30pm, was given the final shape by the PCB chairman Lt Gen Tauqir Zia at 10.20pm who, using his veto power, included Wasim as the 17th player.

Wasim's inclusion meant that Fazle Akbar, the Peshawar pacer who was expected to serve as the workhorse, missed the bus after a satisfactory performance in New Zealand last month.

Also out of the 20-man provisional list announced Tuesday were openers Imran Nazir and Shahid Afridi while left-handed opener Imran Farhat sneaked into the team by the skin of his teeth.

Controversial pacer Shoaib Akhtar was also named in the side though his fitness was still unknown. Shoaib, who has twice been reported for a suspect bowling action, was supposed to undergo a fitness test. But he didn't, leaving big doubts whether he would survive the tour which include four county matches, two Tests and the tri-nation one-day series.

Shoaib hasn't played competitive cricket since Feb 28 when he hobbled from the Dunedin ground during the fifth and final one-day international because of a hamstring injury.

Previously, Shoaib had also failed to complete the tour to the West Indies and missed rest of 10-month cricket because of multiple injuries.

Interestingly, Australian Darrell Hair and Englishman Peter Willey who first reported him in November 1999 in the third Test at Perth, will be officiating in the Lord's Test starting May 17.

A spokesman of the PCB said the team for the one-day series would be announced later. He revealed no further details as to why there was a delay in the announcement of the team.

The inclusion of Wasim Akram, even though as 17th member, confirms that the former captained played his cards right and made it into the squad despite the fact that Waqar Younis was stubborn and adamant not to include him.

However, it is a different issue altogether with Wasim finds a place in the playing line up in the presence of Waqar, Shoaib, Mohammad Sami, Abdur Razzaq, Azhar Mahmood, Saqlain Mushtaq and Mushtaq Ahmad. The demon leftarm pacer should have been an automatic choice as some of those selected are very ordinary pacers specially at Test level.

The left-hander, who has 409 Test and 440 one-day wickets, has claimed 53 wickets at 29 in his previous four Test tours to England. Besides, he has more than a decade experience of playing in English conditions with Lancashire.

Wasim, who will celebrate his 35th birthday on the penultimate day of the Old Trafford Test, his adopted county ground, has also scored 2,815 runs at 22.52.

While there were no other surprises, Mohammad Wasim earned the selectors nod after missing 13 months of international cricket.

Wasim, who burst into international scene with a century on debut, had played 18 Tests in five years which proves that the opener was not been allowed to establish in the Test side.

Continuous reshuffling of his batting order and lack of proper technique had combined to affect his overall performance at the highest level.

The team includes three openers, five middle-order batsmen, a wicketkeeper, four fast bowlers, two allrounders and two spinners.

Squad:

Saeed Anwar, Imran Farhat, Mohammad Wasim (openers), Yousuf Youhana, Younis Khan, Inzamam-ul-Haq (vice-captain), Faisal Iqbal, Salim Elahi (middle-order batsmen), Rashid Latif (wicketkeeper), Waqar Younis (captain), Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami (fast bowlers), Azhar Mahmood, Abdur Razzaq (allrounders), Saqlain Mushtaq and Mushtaq Ahmad (spinners).

Manager: Yawar Saeed

Bowling coach-cum-consultant: Daryl Foster

Trainer: Dayle Naylor.

© Dawn