London, June 22: Express fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has signed up to play for Durham for the remaining of the county season once Pakistan's ongoing one-day series with England gets over, a cricket portal reported today. Shoaib will replace South Africa's Dewald Pretorius who has surprisingly been included in the national squad for the upcoming series against England, said the website in its report.
Pakistan are playing their third and last one-day international against England today. Durham chairman Bill Midgley and captain Jon Lewis welcomed Shoaib's inclusion to the side.
"This is excellent news for Durham," said Midgley. "Losing Dewald was a big miss for us but signing the first bowler to bowl at 100mph is fantastic - let's see if he can do it at the riverside and get everyone off their seats!" Lewis said he was eagerly looking forward to playing alongside Shoaib.
"I'm delighted Shoaib is joining us. He's a very exciting prospect," he said.
"Shoaib was very keen to come here and that is great for Durham. He's capable of producing devastating spells of fast bowling," Lewis said. Bureau Report