SHARJAH, United Arab Emirates (AFP)
Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar faces a critical five days when his team takes on injury-hit West Indies in the second Test starting on Thursday (Feb 7).

Shoaib, whose action has been reported by umpires and match referees twice in the last three years, escaped unscathed during the first Test which ended at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Monday. Shoaib, dubbed the "Rawalpindi Express", was hailed by team-mates and rivals alike during a blistering 5 for 24 spell that gave Pakistan a resounding win by 170 runs and earned him the Man of the Match award from match referee Mike Denness.

The second Test, however, could be different as Shoaib will be up against Australian umpire Darrel Hair, who reported the Pakistani's action during a Test tour down under in 1999-2000. Hair, who shot to fame in 1996 when he no-balled Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan for throwing, replaces England's George Sharp as the international panel umpire for the match.

Shoaib's action was closely watched by Denness during the first Test, but none of the on-field umpires, Sharp or Mohammad Riazuddin of Pakistan, had any objections. If Hair reports Shoaib again, the speedster faces a one-year suspension from international cricket as a panel of experts work on his bowling action.

Pakistani manager Yawar Saeed told AFP on Wednesday that his country's cricket board had approved Hair's name for the series. "We have no problem with Hair or anyone standing in the match," Saeed said. Pakistani captain Waqar Younis, himself an outstanding fast bowler, said the controversy over Shoaib's action was "over and done with."

"He is a match-winner and I hope he continues to bowl as well as he did in the first Test," Waqar said.

Meanwhile, the West Indies, already without star players Brian Lara and Ramnaresh Sarwan, suffered futher blows when batsmen Sherwin Campbell and Marlon Samuels were ruled out of the Test with injuries. Campbell broke the index finger of his right hand during the first Test, while Samuel underwent orthoscopic surgery Wednesday on a painful left knee and has been advised rest for six weeks.

"We have asked for one batsman to be flown in for the one-day series which starts on February 14," West Indian manager Ricky Skeritt said. With no reserve batsman left in the squad, the West Indies will be forced to play either fast bowler Corey Collymore or spinner Dinanath Ramnarine in the Test.

Even though the West Indies have lost 22 of their last 26 overseas Tests, captain Carl Hooper was confident his team can draw the two-match series. "We are not playing poorly, it's just that we are not grasping the opportunity and pressing home the advantage," Hooper said.

In the first Test, West Indies allowed Pakistan to recover from 94 for 4 to post 493 and themselves lost nine wickets for 56 runs on the final day to lose. The West Indians dropped Pakistan's wicketkeeper Rashid Latif on 28 and he went on to top score with 150, sharing a 204-run stand with Yousuf Youhana.

Pakistan 1 Taufiq Umer, 2 Shahid Afridi, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Inzamam-ul Haq, 5 Yousuf Youhana, 6 Abdur Razzaq, 7 Rashid Latif (wk), 8 Shoaib Akhtar, 9 Saqlain Mushtaq, 10 Waqar Younis (capt), 11 Danish Kaneria.

West Indies (from): Carl Hooper (capt), Daren Ganga, Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Wavell Hinds, Ryan Hinds, Ridley Jacobs (wkt), Mervyn Dillon, Cameron Cuffy, Pedro Collins, Corey Collymore, Darrel Brown, Dinanath Ramnarine.

Umpires Darrel Hair (Aus) and Shakeel Khan (Pak)

Match referee Mike Denness (Eng)

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd