Pakistan's extraordinary 2006 took another twist on Tuesday when the Pakistan Cricket Board cleared fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif of doping offences and lifted long-term bans.

The following is a chronology of events that have hit the side since August.

August 20: England are awarded the fourth and final Test of their home series against Pakistan at the Oval after the tourists forfeit the match in the wake of a ball-tampering row. Pakistan refused to return to the field for the final session of the fourth day after umpires Darrel Hair and Billy Doctrave had earlier imposed a five-run penalty against them for altering the state of the ball.

September 29: Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq is cleared of ball tampering by the International Cricket Council (ICC) after a two-day hearing in London, but is banned for four one-day internationals for bringing the game into disrepute. The ban means Inzamam misses the ICC Champions Trophy tournament in India.

October 5: Inzamam's deputy Younis Khan steps down as interim skipper for the tournament, saying he did not want to be a "dummy" captain as well as in protest against the attitude of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials.

October 7: PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan resigns from his post in the wake of the Oval Test fiasco and Younis's decision to step down. Khan is replaced by government advisor Naseem Ashraf, who convinces Younis to return as captain for the ICC Champions Trophy.

October 16: On the eve of their opening match, Pakistan send home fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif from the ICC Champions Trophy in India after the pair test positive for the banned steroid nandrolone. Both player face bans of up to two years if a second test confirms the positive result.

December 5: The PCB clear Shoaib and Asif on appeal and the bans are scrapped.