Surrey have Shoaib Akhtar in their radar © PA Photos

Surrey have expressed interest in signing Shoaib Akhtar, the Pakistan fast bowler, in their bid to avoid relegation. Surrey are currently at the bottom of Division One in the County Championship, and have only three games remaining.

"We have made contact, we have spoken with him [Shoaib]," Alan Butcher, Surrey's cricket manager, told the Press Association. "We are just waiting to see whether it's possible. We've got three matches left and we need something to happen.''

ECB regulations require overseas players to spend a minimum of three weeks in England, but the county was hopeful that Shoaib's potential signing will be mutually beneficial. "They [overseas players] have to be here for a period of 21 days,'' Butcher said. "But he is keen. He's desperate to get back into the Pakistan side and is hoping this could be a springboard to do that.

"If it [the deal] does go through, we hope it can be of great benefit to us all," he said.

If an agreement is reached, Shoaib could play as early as next week, when Surrey face Kent at Canterbury. He has previously represented Worcestershire and Durham with only limited success.