The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will have its drugs tribunal to investigate charges of doping against Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif in place by the end of this week. But as the Islamic festival of Eid is scheduled to begin early next week, it appears unlikely any conclusion will be reached until, at the earliest, late next week.The tribunal will comprise three people; a former Test cricketer – thought by many to be Intikhab Alam – an eminent lawyer and a sports doctor. Both Shoaib and Asif are expected to plead their innocence to the charges; in a meeting yesterday with PCB officials they denied taking any performance-enhancing steroids willingly. Dr Naseem Ashraf, the PCB chairman, has repeatedly asserted that both will be given a fair trial and be allowed a full opportunity to defend themselves but also that the board has a zero-tolerance policy towards doping. If found guilty, both players could face a two-year ban.While Asif has remained largely silent on the issue – he did tell reporters at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore that not being a tearaway fast bowler, he had no need to use steroids – Shoaib has had his innocence defended with more vigour. He initially publicly denied any wrongdoing on bigstarcricket.com. His personal doctor, Dr Tauseef Razzak has also argued that Shoaib was using herbal medicines for various injuries, which might explain the presence of nandrolone in his samples.Razzak told Reuters, “After undergoing surgery in Australia and subsequent treatment for the stress fracture, Shoaib has been seeing a (doctor). It is a possibility that nandrolone was mixed in herbal medicines that he has been taking. He has been tested before during ICC events but has never tested positive.”Cricinfo has also learnt that Shoaib had been granted permission from the ICC to use Ventolin inhalers for his asthma condition. The inhalers are thought to contain a small amount of steroids though not nandrolone.One local newspaper also claimed that Shoaib had delayed his testing and had ended up giving it a day later than his colleagues.Pakistan, meanwhile, is slowly coming to terms with what has happened. Leading newspapers carried editorials on the doping scandal. Karachi-based , with customary balance, said the latest scandal “had the potential to debilitate the side for months to come,” and that the team “would have to live with a brand new taint.” It also reminded readers, however, that the possibility still existed that the two players had unwittingly taken the substance. put on a brave face, enthusiastically championing the PCB’s bravery in handling the situation publicly while also arguing that “Pakistan cricket is strong enough to weather such storms.”With monotonous predictability, two ex-captains, Imran Khan and Javed Miandad, have slammed the PCB’s handling of the matter. Imran questioned the timing of the tests and asked why they could not have been taken earlier, thus preventing Pakistan the trouble of pulling out the two just one day before their opening match.Miandad blamed Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach, arguing that it was his responsibility to make sure players knew what they were taking. “Woolmer has a battery of assistants, there are so many doctors on the PCB panel, they should also be investigated because players don’t know what medicines they are taking.”Fans are still in shock. One US-based reader wrote in to a newspaper saying, “I have been walking around all day feeling like someone has punched me in the gut and I am finding it extremely hard to recover from it.” One cricket-mad mother expressed similar angst, though quickly argued that “it must be a PCB-conspiracy to get rid of Shoaib.”Above all, as one follower put it, the gravity of what has happened is sinking in. “We can laugh off the captaincy changes and board changes. ‘ (‘This stuff keeps happening). But drug charges? That is really serious.’ As we will see, no doubt, over the coming week.

Brian Lara is glad his side will have the chance to play the reigning World Cup winners in the Champions Trophy final on Sunday. But he acknowledged it would be a different challenge to when West Indies defeated Australia in their opening group match at Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium, which is also the venue for the final.”Australia have gained some momentum since they lost to us,” Lara told . “They are very confident of their chances. We have to realise that we are going to play a completely different opposition to the one we played against.”That time Australia were playing their first match and we had a sort of an advantage [having played three qualifying games]. It’s a challenge but we will back ourselves.” West Indies are gaining one-day momentum after beating India in a home series in May and reaching the final of the DLF Cup tri-series in Malaysia in September, which they lost to Australia.”I won’t say it’s an unfinished business against Australia. I just feel it’s nice to play them in the final again,” Lara said. “Our one-day game has always been pretty good. It just required a little bit of fine-tuning. We did that in Malaysia. We were forced to play the qualifying round here and that in itself gave us a little bit of competitive cricket.”It’s nice to be playing the world champions in the final. It says a lot about our effort … getting past South Africa, and beating India and Australia in group matches. So, we are looking forward to the challenge.”

Rahul Dravid was a downcast man after the embarrassing 157-run defeat atKingsmead, admitting that his team just wasn’t good enough in the face ofsome hostile and accurate fast bowling from South Africa’s quintet. From62 for 2, the downward spiral was spectacular and brief, with Andre Neland Jacques Kallis picking up 7 for 16 between them.Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni accounted for 67 ofthose runs, and Dravid was forced to admit later that the India’s fortuneson this tour may well rest on his and Tendulkar’s shoulders. “We are theexperienced players of the team; we are the ones who have been herebefore,” he said. “We’re pretty disappointed not to have put up a bettershow with the bat after we did well to restrict them to 248.”The bowling effort had been full of promise, with the runs kept downdespite a marvellous century from Jacques Kallis. “There were some goodsigns with the ball and some positives came out of our bowling,” he said.”I was pretty happy with the way the boys performed in the first half ofthe game. But we were just not good enough with the bat.”With Shaun Pollock bowling a superb opening spell, South Africa got theearly breakthrough they needed to defend 248, and once Charl Langeveldtand Nel produced beautiful deliveries to get rid of Dravid and Tendulkar,the descent into hell was mercifully quick. “Probably, our shot selectionagainst some of the fast bowlers is something we need to look at andreassess when we go into the next match,” said Dravid. “We will bedefinitely looking to perform much better with the bat. We have toimprove from here and put in some better performances if we want tocompetitive in the series.”This was India’s 13th one-day defeat in 17 games against South Africa inthese climes, and Dravid accepted that it would take an almighty effort toturn things around. “It’s going to be a challenge,” he said. “That’s whereyour ability and character are tested. And if you can come out of a tourlike this with some good scores and runs, it will give you a lot ofconfidence.”We will have to play better. After going through how we got out, we willhave to learn. I must say that the South Africans bowled well, and we didnot have a good day.”After a nightmarish start to the tour, he can only take consolation in thefact that it can’t get any worse. Or will it?

Shane Warne’s local club has proposed renaming its ground in honour of his achievements in the game. The board of St Kilda want to rename the Junction Oval – the ground where Warne made his first-class debut in 1991 – to the Shane Warne Ground.”It’s been the Junction Oval, the St Kilda Cricket Ground, for 151 years – we think a change of name would be appropriate,” Ron Laird, St Kilda’s president told Australia TV station Channel Nine. “He’s one of the cricketers of the century, two of which we’ve had at St Kilda – Bill Ponsford and Warne.”The board will cast their votes on the decision later this month before presenting the proposal to the relevant authorities. Warne has played local cricket at the club and also made his comeback there, for Victoria 2nd XI in February 2004, after a 12-month anti-doping ban.He is currently playing in his final match for Australia, in the 5th Test against England at Sydney, after announcing his retirement at the Boxing Day Test last month.

ScorecardAshlyn Kilowan took four wickets and Johmari Logtenberg struck a fine 103 for South Africa Women who comprehensively beat Pakistan in the fourth one-dayer at Pretoria. A whitewash is now in sight, and South Africa’s preparations for the World Cup qualifiers are in fine order.Pakistan did at least manage to bat out their 50 overs, but could only scrape together 158 for 9 while chasing 260. In spite of 45 from Tasqeen Qadeer and a gritty 28 from Sajjida Shah, they fell to Kilowan’s medium pace and to the offspin of Sunette Loubser who took two wickets. South Africa’s fielding was also slick, pulling off three run-outs.While Pakistan’s batsmen struggled, South Africa’s prospered – although not after a top-order wobble in which they were reduced to 55 for 3. But Logtenberg was defiant, putting on 121 with Susan Benade (58) and 50 with Mignon du Preez. Only 17 and playing in just her second one-dayer, du Preez hung around for half-an-hour as Logtenberg took command, notching a 111-ball hundred and pushing South Africa up to 259 for 6.It was always likely to be too much for Pakistan, in spite of Qadeer’s bold 45. The fifth and final one-dayer is on Sunday.

Wasim Bari, Pakistan’s chief selector, expressed fears that the expected return of Umar Gul, the injured fast bowler, for the second Test against South Africa next week might backfire.”I hope they (Pakistan team management) take a sensible decision on Gul otherwise we might suffer,” Bari told .Bari hoped that Pakistan would not rush in the talented Gul, who is seen among the key players for March’s World Cup campaign in the West Indies.Gul, Pakistan’s most successful Test fast bowler in 2006, missed the opening Test at Centurion because of an ankle injury. Pakistan went on to lose the Test by seven wickets earlier this week.Initial medical reports suggested that the injury would keep Gul out of international action for at least three weeks. However, reports coming from South Africa signal Gul’s return for the next Test, scheduled to get underway from January 19 in Port Elizabeth.Inzamam-ul-Haq, Pakistan captain, said recently that Gul has recovered and is expected to play in the second Test. A PCB official also confirmed that Gul is likely to get the all-clear to return to the line-up in Port Elizabeth where the tourists will be looking forward to level the three-match series.However, Bari said that Pakistan might be acting hastily in forcing Gul to make an early comeback. “I’m afraid that if Gul is brought back hastily he might aggravate his injury and he could then be out for a long time. It happened last year when Rana Naved-ul-Hasan was forced to play by his county in spite of an injury and he was out for quite a few months,” said Bari, referring to the injury-related absence of Naved-ul-Hasan, who missed several matches in 2006 because of a groin injury he sustained while playing for Sussex.The former Test cricketer, however, hoped that the team management would take the right decision in Gul’s case. “I hope better sense prevails because with the World Cup just round the corner we cannot afford to make any mistakes,” he said.Meanwhile, a PCB spokesman played down any such fears saying that all of Pakistan’s leading bowlers would be available for the second Test. “We have received positive reports on our bowling attack and we expect that Pakistan would take the field in Port Elizabeth with their first choice bowlers,” he said.He added that fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has also been declared match fit and is all set to bowl in the second Test.

Simon Taufel has received more recognition for his umpiring after being named the official of the year at the Australian Sports Awards in Melbourne. Taufel beat a field including football and basketball referees to add the prize to his three consecutive successes as the ICC’s leading umpire.”I hope that this form of recognition creates awareness that officials are an integral part of the game and encourages other members of the community to look at match officiating as a way of contributing to their chosen favourite sport,” Taufel said.Cricket Australia’s CricKids Ashes Challenge school resource was nominated as a top-three finalist in the sports information technology award and Karen Rolton, the Australia captain, was short-listed for the female athlete of the year.

Qaiser Abbas led Sialkot Stallions to a five-wicket win over Rawalpindi Rams with a quickfire 95 at the United Bank Limited Sports Complex in Karachi. Abbas added 133 for the second wicket with Mansoor Amjad who scored 56 before he was caught behind off Akhtar Ayub, Rawalpindi’s right-arm medium fast bowler. Rawalpindi had managed 244 in their 50 overs through Babar Naeem’s fine 99 off 86 balls. Sialkot reached the target with 35 balls to spare.Atif Maqbool’s career-best 5 for 21 took Karachi Dolphins to a comprehensive 96-run victory against Faisalabad Wolves at National Stadium in Karachi. A late charge by No. 7 batsman Tariq Haroon – unbeaten on 106 – powered Karachi to 297 in their 50 overs. Then Maqbool set to wind up the Faisalabad batsman with his offbreaks. Faisalabad never recovered after he broke the first-wicket partnership worth 77 runs. A fighting half-century by Misbah-ul-Haq, the Faisalabad captain, could not revive their innings and they were bowled out for 201 inside 44 overs.Fazl-e-Akbar’s five-wicket haul helped the Peshawar Panthers defend their modest total of 235 and beat the Karachi Zebras by 49 runs at the Ashgar Ali Shah Stadium in Karachi. Akbar, a right-arm fast-medium bowler, dismissed the Karachi openers for 17 runs and then the wickets kept falling at regular intervals – more often than not to Akbar himself – as no Karachi batsman scored more than 37.Mohammad Fayyaz made 89 for Peshawar in their innings.

The news of Bob Woolmer’s murder deeply shocked me and I have written this appreciation in the memory of a dedicated professional and a superb human being. I had met Bob Woolmer cursorily before deciding, as chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, to appoint him national coach. I had based the decision on the advice of Ramiz Raja, then chief executive, and on Bob’s outstanding reputation as coach with Warwickshire and South Africa. I had also consulted the ICC, where Woolmer served as High Performance Director of Coaching.To my pleasant surprise, Woolmer readily agreed and, at a meeting in a London hotel, we quickly agreed to the terms. I recall that at the meeting Woolmer demonstrated immediately his ability to interact sensitively with even the most difficult of players. Shoaib Akhtar had at the time adopted a position of non-cooperation with the PCB and had refused to join the national camp but Woolmer picked up the phone at the hotel and spoke to Shoaib in a most persuasive manner and obtained from him a commitment.When Bob took over as coach, Pakistan were languishing in the lower levels of both Test and ODI rankings of the ICC tables. There was demoralisation, controversy and disunity among the players. Bob immediately addressed the issues of morale and performance in the team and worked assiduously to reverse these negative trends.At a time of our lamentable exit from the World Cup, when the entire cricketing establishment is being blamed for Pakistan’s failure, it is worth recording that during Woolmer’s tenure Pakistan’s performance led to the rise in its rankings to second and third spots in the ICC tables. Apart from the obvious improvement in performance, Woolmer was able to instil unity and a fighting spirit in the team that saw Pakistan succeed at home and abroad. Even when Pakistan lost to Australia and England, a fighting spirit was apparent with many a rearguard action and an ability to bounce back from reverses.Bob Woolmer was not an authoritarian coach. He believed in gentle and sensitive persuasion of the players, spending hours with individuals demonstrating weaknesses of technique and even of attitude. He was an innovative coach and a master of developing coaching techniques to improve performance. He was opposed to dull routine and insisted on advanced fitness levels – an area he found shockingly inadequate when he took over coaching Pakistan.

Woolmer was also a modest and sensitive human being. He decided with his colleagues to live in simple accommodation at the National Academy even though he was entitled to a more luxurious lifestyle. He accepted remuneration at a lower level than he would have found in the international market and his main ambition was to meet the challenge of making Pakistan’s talented team a winning outfit. His emoluments were almost the same as for Javed Miandad whom he replaced as coach and about a third of the salary contracted by India with its foreign coach.There were also several occasions when players, senior and junior, had differences with Bob. He never took umbrage at these outbursts and always went round later to the player to sit and rationally discuss the issue. He was nearly always successful and left the aggrieved player realising that facing disappointment equably was part of the game.Woolmer also believed that the coach’s role ended with the toss of the coin. He maintained that on the field, the captain was fully in charge of strategy and the players. After the game, he would return to the helm to analyse and advise. I recall that sometimes this stand-back role led to problems. For instance, in the vital Bangalore Test against India, the captain was batting and was expecting advice from the coach as to when the crucial declaration should be made. Bob felt that this decision was solely for the captain to make. I know that Inzamam was disappointed and I told Bob that perhaps he had on this occasion taken his non-interference too far.Woolmer faced two major problems during his tenure. First, though he knew of my full support, he felt that senior officials in the Board were out to undermine his authority. On October 6, the day I resigned, Bob came to me with red eyes and said that he would also resign. I persuaded him not to do so, assuring him that I knew the new chairman would give him his full backing. I told Bob that the patron greatly appreciated his contribution in raising the team’s performance and had on several occasions expressed this appreciation and had reiterated the need to support the coach.Two days before leaving for the Caribbean, Bob came to see me saying he would be prepared to serve Pakistan even after the World Cup but the continuous sniping and harassment from PCB’s senior elements would have to stop. He felt that it had been hugely disruptive to preparations and team morale. I again advised Bob to place his trust in the new chairman before making a decision.

The second obstacle that Bob faced was control of the team. Here he found that the captain’s spiritual hold on the team prevented his holding full sway with the players, especially the senior members. Bob had some cricketing differences with Inzamam-ul-Haq but these were addressed through dialogue and mutual understanding, even though for days the captain would go into a brooding silence while Bob attempted to overcome the problem through rational discussion.The more serious issue was that Inzamam was not only the cricketing leader but the spiritual talisman of the team who expected – and was mostly given – total obeisance by his team-mates. I recall Bob telling me, several months before the England tour, that he was severely hampered in addressing team issues because the players were constantly at joint prayers – at lunch, tea and after play. He said he never got a chance to coach the team. I advised him not to interfere in religious matters and to work round the issue. Several weeks later he came to me and said that he had appreciated my advice and added that he had found that praying together several times a day had let to bonding and a welcome team spirit in the team.I will always remember Bob as a superb innovative coach who dedicated himself to harnessing Pakistan’s wayward talent and transforming it into a successful motivated unit. To a large extent he had been successful despite the very real obstacles that he had faced. He was a modest, generous and warm-hearted man who gave his life for Pakistan. I cannot believe that anyone but a raving lunatic would have deliberately caused his death. His murder is a tragedy for Pakistan cricket.I immensely appreciated Bob Woolmer’s dedication as the national coach but beyond his professional abilities, I regarded Bob as a friend and a superb human being. I deeply mourn his death and consider it a national and personal tragedy.

Salahuddin Ahmed, the chief selector of the PCB, has filed an official complaint against Imran Farhat, after the opener dissented at being left out of the Pakistan squad for the Abu Dhabi series against Sri Lanka. The development comes on the heels of a public rift between the selector and Mohammad Ilyas, the former Test opener and father-in-law of Farhat.Salahuddin told that the national selection committee has sent a complaint to the board recommending disciplinary action against Farhat after he called up the selector and asked why he was left out of the squad.”We have filed a complaint against Imran Farhat for trying to interfere with selection matters,” said Salahuddin, a former Test cricketer. “It was a violation of the code of conduct. No player is allowed to talk to the chief selector or other members of the selection committee and raise objection over the selection process.”According to Salahuddin Farhat asked, “Why wasn’t I selected in the team? What was my fault? I have no contract and if I can’t be in the team what would become of my future? You will have to give me a reason why I was not considered?”Farhat was quoted by a local agency denying any misbehaviour. “I just met the selectors and asked the reasons behind my exclusion but, they snubbed me and told me that selection committee is not answerable to any player.” also reported, quoting sources, that Farhat later apologised to the selectors and assured them of their full cooperation in the future.Farhat has not been a part of Pakistan’s ODI plans in recent months, missing the ODI series against South Africa and the World Cup. The selectors opted instead for Salman Butt and Imran Nazir as openers in the 16-man squad for the series against Sri Lanka.Farhat’s protest came just a day after his father-in-law Ilyas exchanged heated words with Salahuddin and selection committee member Shafqat Rana soon after the Pakistan team was named in Lahore. Ilyas reportedly lost his cool when he discovered that Farhat had not been picked, ending the altercation with the words, “the war is now on.” Ilyas told , “It is not a threat but a fact that the selectors did not make the selection fairly and it will ruin the career of many youngsters. If they consider it a threat, let them.”An official notification about his behaviour has also been sent to the board. Farhat faces a fine for alleged violation of the PCB code of conduct.