LAHORE The Pakistan Cricket Board is trying its best to save the board losing its autonomy to the sports ministry and the boards chairman Ijaz Butt is preparing its case on strong footings to make the chief patron President Asif Ali Zardari halt the sports ministrys move. The Federal Sports Ministry is making amendments in the PCB constitution to make the board run under its authority and also make the board officials and the cricket team answerable to their hustling performances. The PCB chairman was to meet the chief patron in Lahore last week but the meeting was postponed due to the busy schedule of the president, giving the PCB ample time to defend not only its seat but also prepare a strong presentation to save it authority slipping away. The Sports ministry has recommended about 16 amendments in the proposed draft of the PCB constitution. Those amendments give the PCB Chairman and Chief Operating Officer Wasim Bari just the speaking rights to the questions put by the ministry with the decision making powers rested with the government officials. All the proposed changes in the constitution give powers to the ministry and the top government officials and the PCB was mum in giving its suggestions. And now when the step has been put forth by the ministry, the PCB has woken from its slumber to defend its domain of rights to keep the direct interference of the government away. The PCB chairman has also written a letter to the chief patron to play its role in stemming the move. The Sports Minister on the other hand is not a sitting duck. They have also taken a step in by approaching the presidency providing it with a set of inefficiencies of the board. However, when the chief patron will be meeting in the National Assembly Sports Committee, the chances are that the decision would be taken in accordance with the recommendations there and then. But it still depends upon how strong the sports ministry and the PCB goes in presenting its cases. Apart from Pir Aftab Shah Jillani, the names of Javed Miandad, Zaheer Abbas, Lt. Gen (retd) Tauqeer Zia, Ramiz Raja and a member of Governing Board, Wazir Ali are doing the round to replace the chairman. Defensive Yousuf pleads for more time as captain In the line of fire after Pakistans humiliating Test series loss in Australia, skipper Mohammad Yousuf on Tuesday defended himself insisting that the team has not done too badly under him and he needs more time to settle the side. Pakistan were whitewashed 3-0 in the recently-concluded Test series but Yousuf insisted that the teams performance was not all that bad. I have done okay I think, we drew the Test series in New Zealand and have troubled Australia, Yousuf reported to have said. The 35-year-old said despite the humiliating loss to Australia, he remains hopeful of retaining captaincy for the tour of England this year. I am enjoying the job and I would like to keep doing it. Trying to do it sincerely and lift the boys and myself, he said. I am a new captain and captains are not born. It takes time for them to learn. I am willing to learn and take help from anyone. They say I made mistakes, I probably did, for sure. But tell me what to do and then if I dont learn or not listen, then criticise me, I am ready I will speak to anyone about it, he added. Yousuf also defended his teams performance in Australia. We have a couple of inexperienced players and they are learning. And our batting has never been our strong point. And what happened to past Pakistan teams in Australia, he stated. Yousuf admitted captaincy may have affected his batting form in the series. Maybe captaincy is affecting my batting. There is a lot of pressure on me to speak to batsmen and bowlers. I, have just started it, have done it in only six Tests and everybody must consider the circumstances, he said. Yousuf was given the captaincy after Younus Khan withdrew from the Test tour to New Zealand last November following the teams One-day series loss to the Kiwis under his captaincy in Abu Dhabi.