Yawar Saeed quits as Pakistan manager

Yawar Saeed has stepped down as manager of the Pakistan team, as had been widely expected. The PCB announced in a brief statement that Saeed had asked the board chairman to be relieved of his duties and that Ijaz Butt had agreed.

Saeed had indicated several times that Pakistan's long tour of England would be his last. During the tour the team played two Twenty20s and two Tests against Australia, and four Tests, two Twenty20s and five ODIs against England.

The tour began well, with Pakistan splitting the Tests against Australia, but became troubled following accusations of spot-fixing against Pakistan captain Salman Butt, and fast bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif, on the last day the Lord's Test. All three have been provisionally suspended by the ICC while it investigates the allegations.

The relationship between the PCB and the ECB deteriorated over the course of the tour, culminating in the ECB threatening to take legal action over comments made by Ijaz Butt that appeared to accuse the England side of fixing as well.

Saeed, whose father Mian Mohammad Saeed was Pakistan's first-ever captain in their unofficial matches before they received Test status, has been manager of several Pakistan sides over the years, most recently last year, when he stepped down after the Champions Trophy. At the time there was speculation of differences between him and the then captain Younis Khan. But eventually, after the disastrous tour of Australia earlier this year, Saeed was convinced to return at Ijaz Butt's request. Normally, managerial appointments are made by the PCB on a tour by tour basis and no longer than that.