The insider's guide to cricket's drug scandal

You don't often associate cricket with drugs cheats, but unfortunately for Pakistan two of their players have been at the heart of the sport's latest controversy. Here's all you need to know.

The latest furore is a two-year ban imposed on quick bowler Shoaib Akhtar -- know as "the Rawalpinidi Express" -- and a one-year ban on the golden boy of Pakistani cricket, Mohammad Asif. Both tested positive for a banned steroid. That's just not cricket.

Both cricketers tested positive for the banned steroid nandrolone on October 16, 2006. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) carried out the tests before the team left for India to compete in the Champions Trophy. Both samples of Shoaib and Asif tested positive at the accredited lab in Kuala Lumpur.

What does nandrolone do?

Nandrolone is an anabolic steroid. It's a banned substance that often crops up in drugs tests of athletes from a variety of sports. It provides an extra edge by helping to build muscle, reduce fatigue and improve recovery times from exhaustion. It's not all good, obviously, as it also increases damage to the liver and heart. Sportsmen caught out for using it in the past include Czech tennis player Petr Korda, Dutch footballer Edgar Davids and British sprinter Linford Christie.

What was the Pakistan Cricket Board's reaction?

After the test results were revealed the PCB appointed a three-man doping tribunal headed by Pakistani barrister Shahid Hamid to look into the matter. The panel ruled the pace pair out of all international and domestic cricket for two years.

Hamid told reporters in Lahore on Wednesday, "We gave a full chance to both the pacemen to fight their cases and after a thorough inquiry we feel they failed to prove their innocence. The two players are banned from representing Pakistan in any international match, cannot play in a domestic match under the auspices of the PCB, cannot take any monetary gains and cannot hold any official posts."

Shoaib, who tested negative in 2003 and 2004, plans to appeal against the ruling.

How did the team fare in the Champions Trophy campaign without them?

Despite the odds being stacked against them, Pakistan began the Champions Trophy with a bang beating Sri Lanka by four wickets in their first game on October 17. There after it all went awry with losses to both New Zealand and South Africa.