Scotland Yard levels no charge on players: HC

Updated at: 0417 PST,  Wednesday, September 01, 2010  LONDON: Pakistan High Commission in London said Tuesday Scotland Yard Police merely carried out investigation with Pakistani players alleged of cricket betting scam but however, they have so far leveled no charges upon them, Geo News reported. In a statement issued from Pakistan HC in UK, shelving the impression that cricket team has been asked to abandon ongoing visit, said: “Neither any action is in progress against alleged players nor have they been asked to come back home.” There is no truthfulness in news pertaining to leaving out any player from squad neither the tour is going to be called off, the statement went on saying so. The statement said that no FIA team is flying to London to probe into betting allegations against seven players as the matter is currently in hands of Scotland Yard Police for investigation. Statement also clarified that those arrested including a woman were accused of money laundering on contrary to fixing matches, leaving the matter entirely unlinked with betting scam. Scolding news media over their conduct in connection with betting allegations, the statement warned newsmen against exaggerating the matter, saying no evidences have proven positive against players as yet.

PCB won’t suspend any player pending betting probe

Updated at: 1622 PST,  Tuesday, August 31, 2010  LONDON: Pakistan Cricket Board said Tuesday it would not suspend top players accused over a betting scam while the claims are probed, but reports suggest they will not play the rest of the tour in England. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has promised "prompt and decisive action" if the allegations made by a British Sunday newspaper are proven, insisting that corruption would not be tolerated. Pakistani authorities have also promised severe punishment but the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said Tuesday it would not suspend any players while police investigated the players. "Chairman Ijaz Butt just told me that since there is a case going on with the Scotland Yard we are not going to suspend any player," a PCB spokesman said. "He further said that this is only an allegation so far. There is still no charge or proof on that account. So at this stage there will be no action taken." According to British media reports, the players named in the News of the World allegations -- captain Salman Butt, Mohammad Aamer, Mohammad Asif and Kamran Akmal -- are unlikely to play in the series of one-day internationals against England. The Pakistan team begin their preparation for the one-day series, which follows the Test series in which the alleged betting scam took place, with a practice match against English county Somerset on Thursday. The first one-day match against England is on Sunday. The News of the World, a British Sunday tabloid, alleged that a middleman took 150,000 pounds (230,000 dollars, 185,000 euros) to arrange for Pakistani players to deliberately bowl the no-balls. The Daily Telegraph newspaper said it understood that the ICC had asked the Pakistan authorities for the four players cited in the allegations to be dropped from the squad, although no official request has been made. Other British press reports said the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) was adamant that the players at the centre of the allegations should be omitted from the one-day series. Citing an ICC source, it also reported that the same players had been under investigation for months by their anti-corruption unit.

ICC promises 'decisive' action if fix claims proven

Updated at: 2349 PST,  Monday, August 30, 2010  LONDON: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday promised "prompt and decisive action" if allegations of spot-fixing by Pakistan players in the fourth Test against England were proven. Neither the ICC nor the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have suspended the players involved in the allegedly deliberate bowling of no-balls here at Lord's during the final Test of a four-match series. But ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said in a statement issued Monday: "The integrity of the game is of paramount importance. "Prompt and decisive action will be taken against those who seek to harm it. "However, the facts must first be established through a thorough investigation and it is important to respect the right of due process when addressing serious allegations of this sort. "Make no mistake - once the process is complete, if any players are found to be guilty, the ICC will ensure that the appropriate punishment is handed out. We will not tolerate corruption in this great game," added Lorgat, who said the ICC were conducting their own enquries into the allegations. Pakistan's tour is continuing with a one-day match against county side Somerset on Thursday and the players who have been under investigation could yet play in that fixture at Taunton and in the first of two Twenty20 internationals against England in Cardiff this coming Sunday. Meanwhile Lorgat insisted: "The ICC, ECB and PCB are committed to a zero-tolerance approach to corruption in cricket. "All allegations of betting irregularities or fixing of matches or incidents within matches are investigated thoroughly by the ICC's internationally respected Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) and this case is no different." The South African added: "Currently, senior ACSU investigators are in the United Kingdom conducting enquiries into the allegations directed at some Pakistan players during the recently concluded Test against England at Lord's. "That investigation has the full support and co-operation of the ECB and PCB. In addition, ACSU officials are assisting London's Metropolitan Police with their criminal investigation. "Led by Sir Ronnie Flanagan (the former Northern Ireland police chief) the ACSU is the most respected and experienced such unit in world sport and it has at its disposal a robust and far-reaching anti-corruption code that all ICC members support and are bound by." The scandal broke when Britain's News of the World newspaper claimed last Sunday it had paid fixer Mazhar Majeed 150,000 pounds (230,000 dollars, 185,000 euros) for advance details of three Pakistan no-balls at Lord's as part of a sting operation. Majeed, a 35-year-old who is an agent for several Pakistan players, was arrested by police on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers in the wake of the report but was released on bail late last Sunday. Scotland Yard interviewed Pakistan captain Salman Butt and wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal plus star strike bowlers Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif, who bowled the no-balls -- normally an accidental and unpredictable occurrence -- in question. Butt, Asif and 18-year-old Aamer all had their mobile phones seized. Pakistan lost the fourth Test by an innings and 225 runs -- their heaviest Test defeat -- and with it the series 3-1 at Lord's on Sunday.

Pakistan scandal poses major questions for ICC

Updated at: 0232 PST,  Tuesday, August 31, 2010  NEW DELHI: Betting scam allegations swirling around the Pakistan team are raising serious doubts over the ability of cricket's global anti-corruption watchdog to snuff out problems blighting the game. Britain's News of the World newspaper said Sunday it had paid middleman Mazhar Majeed 150,000 pounds (230,000 dollars) for advance details of three no-balls in the final Test match between Pakistan and England at Lord's. International Cricket Council chief executive Haroon Lorgat said the ICC, which he said has a "zero-tolerance approach to corruption in cricket", was conducting its own inquiry and would take action against any guilty players. "If these allegations are proven, action will be taken in a severe manner," he told media, adding in a statement that the game's integrity was "of paramount importance". But the alleged "spot-fixing" by Pakistani players highlights the apparent failure of the ICC's much-vaunted Anti-Corruption and Security Unit. The ACSU was set up in 2000 after a match-fixing scandal that led to life bans for Test captains Hansie Cronje (South Africa), Mohammad Azharuddin (India) and Salim Malik (Pakistan). The unit was headed by former London Metropolitan police chief Paul Condon until June, when he retired and was replaced by another senior former British policeman, Ronnie Flanagan. The ICC acknowledges that millions of dollars are gambled legally and illegally on every match, and says the ACSU was established when "cricket's reputation and integrity were tarnished and in danger of being destroyed". Respected website Cricinfo.com reported on Monday that the ACSU had been monitoring several Pakistani cricketers and the alleged middleman, Majeed, over recent months. Pakistan's tour of Australia earlier this year -- especially the second Test in which the tourists collapsed to hand the hosts an astonishing victory -- attracted ACSU interest but no action was taken. Before he retired, Condon told Cricinfo that Pakistani in-fighting on the tour had wrecked the team's motivation. "What we still need to establish is whether that was because rival camps wanted to do down captains or potential captains, or whether it was something more serious, doing it for a financial fix," he said. But ACSU investigations into the Pakistan set-up were hampered because Majeed is also agent to several of the players and could not be stopped from having access to them. One clear failing of the body has been its failure to fill the key vacancy of regional manager for Pakistan and Bangladesh since retired colonel Nuruddin Khawaja died in January. "The ICC and the ACSU are on the job, but they still need to do a lot more to ensure such things don't happen," veteran cricket writer Ayaz Memon told media. "It can't be easy to prove underhand corruption. But cricket clearly does not need such scandals." The ACSU has yet to release its report on the Sydney Test between Pakistan and Australia, which Majeed claimed was fixed in favour of the home team and earned him 1.3 million pounds. "My prediction is that you will never entirely eradicate fixing from the game of cricket," Condon told Cricinfo in May. "If you were designing a game to fix, you would design cricket, because it is a whole series of discreet events, and every ball you can bet on. "If you know in advance when a bowler is going to bowl a no-ball, it's like knowing when red or black is going to come up on a roulette wheel." Condon had targeted low-profile one-day matches and the cash-rich Indian Premier League, but gave a clean slate to the IPL's third edition this year. While trumpeting the ICC's zeal to fight corruption, Lorgat acknowledged that the ACSU is hamstrung by limited powers. "It hasn't got the powers of the police or the ability of a newspaper to mount a 'sting' operation," he told media.

Three held over cricket 'betting scam'

Updated at: 1851 PST,  Tuesday, August 31, 2010  Three people have been arrested by Customs officials in connection with betting allegations against Pakistani cricket players. Two men and a woman, all from London, were questioned yesterday as part of an investigation into money laundering before being released on bail, HM Revenue and Customs said. The development came as it was announced that three Pakistan cricketers will meet officials from their country in London tomorrow.

Rehman views anti-Pak plot among scam factors

Updated at: 1419 PST,  Tuesday, August 31, 2010

KARACHI: Federal Interior Minister Rehman A Malik said the investigative team of Pakistan would jump into probe after the report by Scotland Yard is finally made public, Geo News reported Tuesday. Talking to media along with Federal Sports Minister Aijaz Jakhrani here, he sought people of Pakistan to hold on until Scotland Yard police report, adding ‘We have written a letter regarding collaboration on the investigations with Scotland Yard and elicited from them the investigative report. Responding a question about the video, the federal minister said the video may be forged, adding action would be taken against any players if found involved in the match-fixing scandal. Aijaz said, ‘The incident caused cutting grief to the fans of cricket and we don’t need to send any other team to London.’ Rehman said the government did not rule out any anti-Pakistan conspiracy in the scam, and if there is any plot in the making, it should be uncovered. The police in the two countries may join hands in the probe under agreement between the two countries, he clarified.

Asif, Aamer, Butt stopped from practice August 31, 2010

Asif, Aamer, Butt stopped from practice

Updated at: 1849 PST,  Tuesday, August 31, 2010  TAUNTON: Pakistan cricket team management present in England stopped three players - Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Aamer and Salman Butt – from taking part in practice and they are being sent to London. Sources said that Pakistan high commissioner in England Wajid Shamsul Hasan has summoned these three players to London where they are also expected to meet with wellknown lawyer Elizabeth Robert. All three players have been charged for match-fixing. As per sources, replacements of these three players may be announced but the accused players cannot go outside England until the investigations are completed. Meanwhile, an important meeting is going on between Waqar Younis, Shafqat Rana and Ijaz Ahmed.