Akhtar refuses to shorten run-up

Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar has refused to shorten his run-up as suggested by his captain, Inzamam-ul-Haq, and coach, Bob Woolmer, following the team's sluggish over-rate in the first Test against Australia in Perth.

"We're going to go through our overs quickly. We talked about it. I'm not going to change, but I'm going to go back to my run-up quickly," said Shoaib, who runs 40 yards (120 feet) before each delivery.

Shoaib tried to explain his stance by drawing a parallel with a jet plane.

"I'll ask you a question. Can a plane take off without a run-up? No, so I've got to take the run. It's how I generate my pace and everything flows into the right action. I'm not going to cut down," Shoaib was quoted as saying in the 'Sydney Morning Herald'.

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Coach Bob Woolmer was concerned about Pakistan's slow over-rate in the first Test at Perth where they were humbled by a massive 491-run margin, and outlined Shoaib's run-up as one of several areas that needed to be rectified ahead of the Melbourne Test starting on December 26.

Woolmer had termed the over-rate "ridiculous and very poor".

Former Pakistan skipper Imran Khan had also asked Shoaib to cut short his run-up during the recent one-dayer against India in Kolkata marking BCCI's Platinum Jubilee.

"I used to bowl all day at his age. He sprints such a long way that he could easily cut it down without losing any pace, but he would have more stamina," Khan had said.