Friday, September 8 2006 14:02 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Karachi: After getting embroiled twice in ball tampering controversies inside a month, Pakistan cricket team management has asked its bowlers, especially speedster Shoaib Akhtar, to be extra careful with the ball during the remaining two matches of the current one-day series against England.

Pakistan team manager Zaheer Abbas says although they are convinced that their players have not been involved in ball tampering, the caution has been sounded in the wake of the two controversies.

"We are sure that our players have done nothing wrong," Zaheer says.

"But the fact is that our players have been placed under a microscope since The Oval Test and there is no other way for us than to be very careful," he adds.

On Akhtar's name coming up in ball tampering during the third one-dayer at Southampton, Zaheer says the 'Rawalpindi Express' is only trying to clean the ball.

"Shoaib was just trying to clear some dust from the seam of the ball. The cameras seemed to portray a different story and everybody was talking about it. It was unnecessary," Zaheer says.

The manager says as an extra-caution, the players have been asked go to the umpire when they need to clean the ball. "It is better to consult the umpires whenever such a problem arises," he says.

"We have been playing really well since the start of the (ODI) series and we want to keep our focus on cricket rather than controversy," Zaheer adds.