Pakistan’s express pace man Shoaib Akhtar said he was no longer interested in bowling faster.

Just imagine if James Dean had said he was giving up screen stardom for slippers, a pipe and an armchair by the fire.

Shoaib is speed. The man, with his powerful, low-centred frame, reeks of the stuff.

If the fastest bowler in the world were to start trying to check his pace and concentrating on line and length instead, he would be denying his very personality.

He would no longer be Shoaib Akhtar. He would be Glenn McGrath. Only with longer hair.

An unconvincing net session by injured Pakistan opener Saeed Anwar increased speculation he will miss his side’s opening World Cup match against Australia at The Wanderers on Tuesday.

Anwar, who suffered a severely bruised left elbow when he was hit by a delivery from team mate Shoaib Akhtar last week, batted briefly against a bowling machine on Monday.

He was seen flexing his arm afterwards. Earlier he took part in a fielding drill but did not throw the ball over-arm.

ENGLAND PULL OFF STUNNING VICTORY
Three balls after he had reduced Pakistan to 78 for eight, White sent Pakistan spiralling further towards defeat whenWaqar Younis was turned and the ball looped up to Knight in the gully.

Shoaib Akhtar enjoyed himself with some wild swinging and authentic strokes to take two sixes off White. That 30th over of the innings cost 21 runs and lifted Shoaib to become top scorer. He only faced 16 balls, but he smote five fours and three sixes before Flintoff, who had perhaps been guilty of bowling too short, found a full length delivery to shatter Shoaib’s stumps and England had claimed a stunning victory.

KIMBERLEY - Having been beaten by Australia in the opening game, and to add insult to injury, being considered ‘a topsy turvy team, which is quite beatable on its off-day’ by Namibian coach Douglas Brown, Pakistan enter the De Beers Oval Sunday to put some points on the table and improve their net run rate.

In a press conference here, skipper Waqar Younis acknowledged that motivating the boys against the minnows was important. “This is a World Cup game; so there is no question of any complacency”.

To another question, he said that he would not ask his fast bowlers to relent simply because of the inexperience of the Namibians.