ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP):

PAKISTAN'S SUPREME Court decided yesterday that former Test captain Salim Malik can appeal against his life ban for match-fixing, his lawyer said.

"The court has allowed us to file an appeal against the ban and has given two months' time to complete the proceedings," Malik's lawyer, Raja Jehanzeb Akhtar, told The Associated Press.

The Pakistan Cricket Board banned the batsman for life after a board-appointed inquiry begun in 1999 and ending in 2000 implicated him in fixing international matches.

Acusations

Three Australian players - Mark Waugh, Tim May and Shane Warne - accused Malik of offering them bribes to underperform during their tour of Pakistan in 1994.

The inquiry's tribunal barred the Pakistan batsman from holding any office related to cricket. Malik, now 45, has reportedly expressed an interest in coaching.

Two lower courts earlier refused to hear his appeal, but a three-judge panel of the Supreme Court yesterday directed a court in Lahore to record evidence and reach a verdict in two months, Akhtar said.

It was unclear when hearings would begin.