Pakistan board to review Shoaib bowling footage

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will review video footage of controversial fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar's recent performance in Sharjah before deciding whether to put him through stage two of a bowling action review process.

"We have received a letter from ICC (International Cricket Council) Chief Executive Malcolm Speed informing us that our request to treat Shoaib's case as a special case cannot be entertained," PCB director Munawwar Rana said on Saturday.

"As a result we have reached a mutual agreement with the ICC that we will have an expert or our bowling action review group study footage of his bowling action in Sharjah," he added. "After that we will decide on our next line of action."

Shoaib was reported for a suspect bowling action by ICC match officials for the third time since December 1999 after the recent one-day triangular tournament in Sharjah.

The PCB asked that Shoaib be treated as a special case as a medical report earlier this year by the University of Western Australia's biomechanics department had said the bowler's problem lay in a physical deformity in his bowling arm joints and that he did not throw.

"The ICC however believes Shoaib's case cannot be treated as a special one, as the medical reports do not guarantee or mean he cannot throw again," said Rana.

"They have also told us that since the ICC bowling action review process was finalised last year with the mutual agreement of all cricket boards they cannot set a precedent by treating Shoaib's case as a special one," he added.

The ICC had said that if the PCB did not put Shoaib through stage two of the review and work with appointed bowling adviser Michael Holding, he would go directly to stage three and be suspended for one year if reported again by match officials.

"After much thought we have decided mutually that first we should have a closer look at his footage from Sharjah before the PCB decides on the next step. We are awaiting the footage from the ICC," Rana said.

Shoaib, one of the fastest bowlers in the world and dubbed the "Rawalpindi Express", has been a cause of great debate since he made his test debut in 1997/98 against the West Indies.

His 16-test career has also been plagued by injuries, with him making his most recent comeback in Sharjah after limping out of the Pakistan team in England in June.

Mail Cricket Editor