Pakistan board looking to appoint fielding coach

Shaharyar Khan: looking into the possibility of appointing a professional baseball player © Getty Images

The Pakistan Cricket Board are looking to appoint a fielding coach as part of its preparations for the home series against England and India. Shaharyar Khan, the chairman of the PCB, told The News that the board was on the lookout for a physiotherapist and a fitness trainer on a temporary basis to boost the team's preparation this season.

"We want someone who can come and give a demonstration to our players on the mechanisms of a good fielder in modern day sports," said Shaharyar. "Ideally, we would like to have someone like the former South Africa player Jonty Rhodes to work with our players but apparently he is not available. We are also looking into the possibility of going for a professional baseball player, as they generally tend to be very good fielders."

Shaharyar also pointed out that other teams like Australia and England had benefited from hiring a baseball pro to show them the fielding drills. Although the team has improved considerably under the coaching of Bob Woolmer, there is still a long way to go for them to be called a top fielding side. "Fielding is a very important part of modern day cricket specially with the influx of one-day international cricket," Shaharyar continued, "and we are keen to sign up someone as soon as possible so that he can start to work with our players.

"The idea of having a baseball pro or coach has impressed us all and I think it is something we are looking at very seriously."

A formal training camp is scheduled for next month and the Board has also arranged for three four-day practice games as part of the preparation for the England series in November-December.