October 29, 2006	Sunday	Shawwal 5, 1427

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LAHORE, Oct 28: The Pakistan Cricket Board’s three-man tribunal, investigating recent doping charges against fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif, have called-up coach Bob Woolmer, physio Darren Lifsun and trainer Murray Stevenson for its next hearing, set for Wednesday, Nov 1.

"It is necessary to know the versions of Woolmer, Lifsun and Stevenson in order to reach a conclusion and the tribunal have asked them to appear on Wednesday,” said Barrister Shahid Hamid after conducting the second hearing into the case on Saturday.

Shahid, who heads the tribunal, refused to comment on what actually prompted the body to call upon the three members of the team management for hearing.

Woolmer, in a statement made in Jaipur last week, had already cleared his position. "We know what we have given to the players. Our doctors, our physios are very strict. That's why it came as a shock to me," Woolmer had told Sky Sports News.

The coach had also suggested that Shoaib and Asif may have bought over-the-counter products without realizing the impact of their use. "If anything is happening outside our sphere of influence then I don't know about it. That's what will worry me but I don't have any answers unfortunately," Woolmer had said.

Shahid, on Saturday, made it clear that the tribunal will be handing over its recommendations to the PCB chairman, Dr Nasim Ashraf by Thursday, Nov 2. "I am hopeful the tribunal will be in a position to submit the recommendations to the PCB chairman by Thursday," he said.

Elaborating on Saturday's proceeding, Shahid said the tribunal met up with two medical experts Dr. Javed Akram of King Edward Medical College and Syed Abbas Raza of the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital to seek their advice on the case.

"Dr. Javed and Dr Raza appeared before the tribunal to apprise it on certain technical aspects of the case and they also put some questions before Shoaib and Asif," explained Shahid.