Sacked Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson said he had settled his pay settlement dispute with the Pakistan Cricket Board. Former Australia Test bowler Lawson was sacked on Friday although he had around nine months remaining on his two-year contract. Lawson, 50, met with Salim Altaf, the newly appointed Director General of the PCB, on Friday. “There were some (financial) issues, but they have been cleared,” Lawson said. “All financial matters with the PCB have been sorted out now and I will be leaving soon,” Lawson told reporters in Lahore. Lawson also gave his conditional backing to Shoaib Malik as captain of the national team. “If he (Malik) gets some experience, he could prove to be a good captain,” Lawson said. Malik was appointed captain after Pakistan made a first round exit from the World Cup in the West Indies last year. Ijaz Butt, the Pakistan Cricket Board's newly appointed chairman, has said that the captain's performance will be reviewed before the home series against India in January. The PCB fired Lawson last week and replaced him with former Test captain Intikhab Alam. “It was an honor for me to coach the Pakistan team,” Lawson said. “I wish to come again to Pakistan on a leisure trip, not as a coach.” Mushtaq not worried Mushtaq Ahmed sees no problems in his role as England's spin-bowling coach despite a newspaper report that the ICC will question his appointment due to his links with bookmakers, the Pakistani said on Sunday. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) hired Mushtaq, 38, this month to tutor spin bowlers like Monty Panesar and aspiring internationals. The former leg-spinner was available having retired from First-Class cricket this year due to a knee injury. “I am not concerned by this because I was assistant coach with the Pakistan team twice in recent years,” Mushtaq told Reuters by telephone from Lahore. “I have no issues to explain and I am satisfied with what I am doing. Hopefully everything is sorted out now with the ECB.”
