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I'm not thinking about the final yet: Akram

Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram today urged England's selectors to place faith in youth if they hoped to emerge from their World Cup crisis.

England have found themselves in a state of limbo as rumours are rife that Alec Stewart was on the brink of losing his captaincy, while a new coach was due to be appointed this week.

Talking live on Radio 5, Wasim, whose team has already found a semi-final spot, felt that if England were looking for solutions, then it will not just be a case of replacing the skipper.

"Alec (Stewart) has done a good job, and before that Michael Atherton was doing an even better job" he said.

"Changing the captain was not going to change anything as the team would be still left with same 12 or 14 players. If a captain makes mistakes - bowling changes, the batting order - then fair enough, but if you lose consistency, then it's not the captain's fault. It's the whole team's fault," he said.

Referring to cricketers like Andrew Flintoff and Mark Chilton, Wasim said, "You might as well change the whole team if you're losing. Then you might as well have the young players in and give them a year or two. They may well lose, but they will eventually improve and go on to play for another 10 or 15 years. It just takes time."

Referring to Pakistan's experience, Wasim said: "We played Abdul Razzaq at 18 and Shahid Afridi at 17. Now they are 22 and 23 and have gained experience to handle the pressure."

Over the years, Wasim himself had sampled the extreme highs and lows which defeat in the World Cup have brought, and is just two games away from helping Pakistan win the Cup again.

Three years ago, after Pakistan were defeated by India in the quarter-finals, it was Akram who bore the brunt of his fans' ire. His father was kidnapped for a day, his house was burgled, effigies of him were burnt and he required a police escort for months afterwards.

"That was going way too far," Wasim revealed. "Both myself and my family have been through a lot. In the end, I know I have done nothing wrong."

He added: "Quite a few times I have thought it just wasn't worth the risk, that it was too much, but the support I have received has been excellent. To answer back to those people who criticise me and are jealous of me, I know I only have to perform on the field."

"When we won the World Cup in 1992, you cannot imagine the feeling and the reception we got back home. So it would be extraordinary if we won the World Cup both here and back in Pakistan, but I'm not thinking about the final yet - only about the semi-final."

He said: "I don't want to put too much pressure on the players, although they know they are only one game away from the big one."

UNI