LONDON, Oct 19: English county Worcestershire chairman John Elliott has slammed the contribution of Pakistan paceman Shoaib Akhtar during last season. Shoaib admitted main reason for him signing for the Pears was the then director of cricket Tom Moody. But Moody left New Road to take up a similar post with Sri Lanka in June and seldom produced his best form for new coach Steve Rhodes.

There was also considerable dressing room unrest caused by lack of team ethic shown by Shoaib who took part in recent World Series against Australia.

Elliott said: “Steve Rhodes inherited a thankless task when he took over having to deal with someone like Shoaib Akhtar.

“Players like that are no good to our club. In fact, Shoaib has been no good for any club he’s been at.

“You can only wonder whether Tom Moody might have got the best out of him as he was the one that signed Shoaib. But, really, I don’t think anyone could have handled him. He’s a superstar and just does what he wants.

“It’s all about team spirit and getting the dressing room right and when you’ve got a bloke like Shoaib in there, it can cause mayhem.”—Agencies