PCB secretary Waqar Ahmad said Akram declared himself available yesterday in a telephone call from Manchester, England.

``He (Akram) says he is fit and in form and wants to be considered for selection for the first Test against Australia starting at Rawalpindi on October 1,'' Ahmad said.

Akram, the only bowler to have captured 300 wickets in Tests and One-Day Internationals, last week announced he was retiring from international cricket to get his name cleared in a betting and match-fixing scandal.

An interim report released by PCB two weeks ago recommended that Akram, Salim Malik and Ijaz Ahmad, should not be selected until the investigations were completed.

It said all three were prime suspects in an investigation, which is being carried out by a Lahore judge.

TheAustralians arrive here tomorrow for three Tests and three one-day internationals. They open their tour on Friday against Karachi in a four-dayer.

The chairman of selectors, Wasim Bari, said he has been informed by the authorities (PCB) to consider Akram at a selection committee meeting likely to be held later this week.

SYDNEY: Meanwhile Australian Test cricket captain Mark Taylor and teammates Ian Healy, Glenn McGrath, Stuart MacGill and Michael Slater were to leave Sydney today for the tour of Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The rest of the team will fly direct to Pakistan from Malaysia, where they finished with silver in the Commonwealth Games.

Australia have not won a series in Pakistan for almost 40 years but have been boosted by the return of paceman McGrath, who missed most of last season with a stomach injury.

ACB hire Venkat, Bedi

CHENNAI: The Australian Cricket Board (ACB) has roped in the services of two of the great Indian spin quartet to hone the skills of its aspiringcricketers.

While the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been contemplating to establish a `school for spin' in the country since 1991, the ACB has sent some of its wards to nurture their game with systematised coaching under S Venkataraghavan and Bishen Singh Bedi.

Wayne Phillips, former Australian wicket-keeper and a coach in Australian Institute of Sports Cricket Academy said: ``It will be a great experience for our boys. Considering the veterans' rich experience, the ACB has sent the boys here.''