August 30, 2007	Thursday	Sha'aban 16, 1428

KARACHI, Aug 29: A 21-member Pakistan cricket squad is scheduled to leave for Nairobi in the early hours of Thursday to compete in a quadrangular Twenty20 tournament before heading to South Africa for the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship.

Led by all-rounder Shoaib Malik, the national team arrived here on Wednesday evening from Lahore. The squad is slated to board a Dubai-bound Emirates Airline flight EK-605 before taking a connecting flight to the Kenyan capital.

New Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson, the ex-Australian fast bowler, supervised a five-day training camp at the Gaddafi Stadium after arriving in the country last week.

The four-nation warm-up tournament, which starts in Nairobi on Saturday, features besides Pakistan, Bangladesh, Uganda and hosts Kenya.

On the opening day Kenya play Bangladesh with Pakistan taking on Uganda. On Sunday, after Kenya meet Uganda, Pakistan face Bangladesh. After Monday’s rest day, Bangladesh take on Uganda before the event concludes with the Kenya-Pakistan fixture.

The serious business then begins in South Africa where the Twenty20 World Championship opens on Sept 11 with the hosts facing the West Indies under lights at the Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg.

Pakistan, who are placed in Group ‘D’, start their campaign on Sept 12 against Scotland at the Kingsmead, Durban (match starts at 5.00pm Pakistan Standard Time). The eagerly-awaited game between Pakistan and India is scheduled under lights on Friday at the same venue from 9.00pm PST.

The top two teams of four groups will qualify for the Super-Eights round that begins from Sept 16.

The semi-finals will be played on Sept 22 with the first at the Newlands, Cape Town starting at 4.00pm (PST) while the second taking place in Durban from 9.00pm (PST).

The final in Johannesburg on Sept 24 is scheduled to begin at 5.00pm (PST).

Haroon Rashid, the former Test batsman who had also served as the national and team manager in the past, has been appointed assistant coach. He is expected to reach Kenya on Saturday. Dr Ahsan Hameed Malik, PCB’s Director Marketing and Communication, will fly out on Sept 5 to join the team in South Africa as its media manager.

Squad: Shoaib Malik (captain), Salman Butt (vice-captain), Imran Nazir, Mohammad Hafeez, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal (wicket-keeper), Yasir Arafat, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul, Rao Iftikhar, Fawad Alam, Abdul Rehman.

Officials: Geoff Lawson (coach), Talat Ali (team manager), David Dwyer (trainer), Haroon Rasheed (assistant coach), Faisal Hayat (physiotherapist), Talha (analyst), Malang Ali (masseur), Dr Ahsan Hameed Malik (media manager).