Demands grow for removal of Ijaz Butt

KARACHI: Amid more match-fixing revelations of British tabloid News of the World, cricket circles in Pakistan have renewed their demand for change of current set up in Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

Chairman of Senate Standing Committee on Sports Iqbal Muhammad Ali and senior sports journalist Qamar Ahmed have held the national board responsible for the whole mess.



British tabloid NOTW quoted Test opener Yasir Hameed as saying that some of his team-mates were fixing almost every match.



Cricket experts and critics blame the PCB for the current situation and appealed to the government to take strict action against the board officials.



Senator Iqbal Muhammad Ali has called for immediate removal of PCB chief Ijat Butt.



Speaking to SAMAA, senior journalist Qamar Ahmed severely criticized the PCB, saying it has terribly failed to deal with the situation.



Pakistan's Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi has apologised for the controversy surrounding the spot-fixing allegations.



Test captain Salman Butt and bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer have been charged with "various offences" under Article 2 of the ICC's anti-corruption code relating to alleged irregular behaviour during and in relation to the fourth Test between England and Pakistan.



And Afridi said: "It's very bad news. On behalf of the players I want to say sorry to cricket lovers in all the cricketing nations."



He added: "It's a big challenge for me as captain but we're all ready. The coach and I are not talking about the issue, we are here to play cricket

Yasir Hameed accuses team-mates of widespread match fixing

LONDON: The crisis surrounding Pakistan cricket deepened on Saturday when a teammate of the three players suspended on corruption charges reportedly claimed that players on his team had been fixing "almost every match."

The British News of the World tabloid newspaper said its Sunday edition will quote opening batsman Yasir Hameed as saying Pakistan players were throwing matches.

"They were doing it in almost every match," Yasir was quoted as saying. "God knows what they were up to. Scotland Yard was after them for ages."



"It makes me angry because I'm playing my best and they are trying to lose."



Yasir played in last week's fourth test against England, in which Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir are alleged to have deliberately bowled no-balls in conspiracy with bookmakers.



Yasir has not commented upon the report but Pakistan team manager Yawar Saeed told The Associated Press that the player denied speaking with the paper, which goes on sale the same day as Pakistan's first Twenty20 international against England.



"I have just spoken to Yasir and he did deny it," Saeed said. "I said 'if you have not said these things, why are they saying this?' Again he said 'I have not said it.'"



"That's all I can say. Let's wait and see what happens."



England and Wales Cricket board chairman Giles Clarke said on Saturday the match will go ahead despite the latest allegations.



The International Cricket Council suspended Asif, Amir and test captain Salman Butt this week while it investigates them for various offences under the sport's anti-corruption code.



The ICC is refusing to discuss the case or detail the charges, which followed a sting operation detailed in last week's News of the World that alleged that a middleman accepted payment in exchange for the deliberate no-balls in the match at Lord's - which Pakistan lost by an innings and 225 runs for its worst ever test defeat.



The ICC has called it the biggest fixing scandal to hit cricket for a decade.



The News of the World said its Sunday edition will claim that a fourth Pakistan player is being investigated by the ICC, but that he cannot be named for legal reasons.



The tabloid said Butt, Amir and Asif face a total of 23 charges from the ICC, and alleges that at least 10-thousand pounds (15,400 US Dollars) of marked bank notes it handed to a middleman in exchange for the no-balls has been recovered from Butt's locker.



The captain of Pakistan's limited overs teams has apologised to cricket fans for the controversy.



Shahid Afridi said Saturday that the players in the squad for the remaining two Twenty20 and five one-day matches against England were upset by the allegations.



Butt, Asif and Amir were released without criminal charge after being questioned by London police on Friday but could be banned from cricket for life if found guilty.



The Pakistan Cricket Board's legal adviser said Saturday that the trio have denied knowledge of any alleged wrongdoing by the middleman, agent Mazhar Majeed.



"The players have informed the police that the man was their agent, but they had no knowledge," about his alleged wrongdoing, Tafazzul Rizvi told private television channels in Pakistan.



The News of the World has accused Majeed of acting as a middleman, accepting money in exchange for getting Asif and Amir to bowl intentional no-balls.



The News of the World said that its Sunday edition will include proof that Pakistan High Commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hasan was mistaken in his assertion that the paper recorded Majeed discussing the timing of the no-balls after they were bowled on August 26th.



Hasan, Pakistan's top diplomat in Britain, has accused the ICC of bias for banning the players while police are still looking into the case.

Match-fixing scandals surfaced in Pakistan between 1979 and 1980. Hasan Nasir from Islamabad traces the history of match fixing

Match-fixing scandals surfaced in Pakistan between 1979 and 1980. Hasan Nasir from Islamabad traces the history of match fixing

match 'fixing' row Afridi apologises

 

LONDON: Pakistan one-day captain Shahid Afridi apologised Saturday for the scandal engulfing his side's tour of England after British police questioned three players over an alleged betting scam.

Test captain Salman Butt plus bowlers Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif were all released without charge Friday after the interviews at a police station near the 'home of cricket', Lord's in north London.

But the trio -- who protest their innocence -- are still battling charges under the International Cricket Council's (ICC) anti-corruption code and have been barred from playing any further matches pending the outcome of their case.



"I think this is very bad news," Afridi told reporters at Sophia Gardens here on Saturday, where the first of two Twenty20 internationals against England takes place Sunday.



"On behalf of these boys -- I know they are not in this series -- I want to say sorry to all cricket lovers and all the cricketing nations."



Pakistan coach Waqar Younis said this had been the toughest week he'd known in two decades of international cricket.



"It's pretty sad, whatever happened, and it's been really, really tough on everyone, not only me but the entire team, the management and back home it's been really bad," former fast bowler Waqar explained.



Aamer, at 18 one of cricket's hottest talents, Asif, 27, and Butt, 25, had already withdrawn from the England tour claiming "mental torture", missing Pakistan's eight-run win over county side Somerset on Thursday.



The allegations all relate to the fourth and final Test between England and Pakistan at Lord's, which ended last week with an England victory, in which a tabloid newspaper said deliberate no-balls had been bowled.



The News of the World Sunday newspaper alleged that it paid Mazhar Majeed, an agent for several Pakistan players, 150,000 pounds (185,000 euros, 230,000 dollars) in return for advance knowledge of the no-balls, which could then be bet upon.



The 35-year-old was arrested and bailed by British police.



Afridi said the team had been told not to discuss the matter and not to read this Sunday's News of the World.



Meanwhile England Twenty20 captain Paul Collingwood told reporters at the ground: "If I was approached by anybody, I think I would certainly tell somebody about it."



But as for informing on players and team-mates, he added: "It's very hard to say whether you would blag on someone but I would like to think I would take every decision in the best interests of the game of cricket."



Collingwood said the Sunday of last week's Lord's Test was "one of the saddest days in my career", adding: "I don't really what to have that feeling on a cricket pitch ever again.



"I just want this (fixing) eradicated from the game, full stop."



Detectives questioned the accused trio Friday at Kilburn police station in what their lawyer Elizabeth Robertson stressed were voluntary interviews.



"At no time were they placed under arrest, they were free to leave at any time and they have answered all of the questions that were put to them and have been released without charge or conditions," she told reporters afterwards.



The ICC sanctions have infuriated the Pakistani authorities, in particular Pakistani High Commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hasan, who has said he believes the players are innocent and has suggested they may have been set up.



"I met the cricketers for two hours, cross-questioned them, got to the bottom of it and concluded that they were innocent," Hasan told the BBC Friday.



"The ICC had no business to take this action. The ICC is just playing to the public gallery."



Hasan suggested that Indian bookmakers had a part to play in the affair.



But Lorgat said there was "no truth that there is a conspiracy against Pakistani cricket".



However, the South African added: "We will not tolerate any sort of corruption in the sport".

Amir is an honest man

KARACHI: Pakistani fast bowler Mohammad Amir's domestic team mate from the National Bank of Pakistan, Irfanuddin said his friend is an honest man. While talking to SAMAA, Irfanuddin said that he believed Amir would be declared innocent from the spot-fixing scandal.

Spot-fixing scandal

Pakistan government has ordered the FIA to probe the spot-fixing scandal while the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Sports has demanded to terminate the existing Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman, Ijaz Butt.

Pakistan win but down to 11 on troubled tour

TAUNTON: Pakistan's first match since a betting scandal engulfed the team on their tour of England ended with them having just 11 fit players at their disposal on Thursday.

Pakistan won a one-day tour game against southwest county Somerset by eight runs in the last over in their final match before Twenty20 and one-day series against England.

But the fixture itself was overshadowed by the announcement that Test captain Salman Butt and pace bowlers Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif had withdrawn from the remainder of the tour after being named in a fixing 'sting'.

Britain's News of the World newspaper had alleged on Sunday the trio had all conspired with a 'fixer' to deliberately bowl no-balls during the fourth Test against England at Lord's last week.

Pakistan batsman Umar Akmal was hit in the face batting in the nets at Somerset's County Ground before play started on Thursday and missed the warm-up match entirely while all-rounder Abdul Razzaq suffered a back problem warming-up between innings and was unable to bowl.

Shafqat Rana, Pakistan's associate manager, told reporters Razzaq's condition was being assessed.

Pakistan team manager Yawar Saeed, speaking before play started, said he expected Umar Akmal to be fit for the remainder of the tour.

Saeed added replacements would be called up to take the squad back to its original 16-man size but said he did not know who the new players would be.

Butt, Asif and Aamer all pulled out from the tour after a meeting with Pakistan's High Commissioner (ambassador) Wajid Shamsul Hasan and Ijaz Butt, chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board in London on Thursday.

A statement released on their behalf said they were in no state to play cricket because of the "mental torture" they'd suffered in recent days.

Their withdrawal effectively paved the way for the rest of the tour to continue as scheduled.

"If they do something bad, you need to give them a punishment, but we are still waiting for the result and I'm praying that what happens is good for the team," said Pakistan one-day captain Shahid Afridi at the toss.

In the match itself, Pakistan made 264 all out after being sent into bat.

Shazaib Hasan top-scored for Pakistan with 105, off 120 balls with two sixes and 10 fours, while Fawad Alam made 97.

The pair put on 169 runs in 31 overs for the fourth wicket.

Debutant medium-pace bowler Lewis Gregory led Somerset's attack with four wickets for 49 runs.

Somerset finished on 256 for nine with South African Zander de Bruyn unbeaten on 122.

Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal took three for 40 and paceman Umar Gul three for 66.

The match passed of without incident and a collection amongst the crowd of 4,000, who acknowledged all the to urists' good play with traditional polite applause, raised 2,580 pounds (3,971 dollars) for the Pakistan flood-relief fund.

Somerset chief executive Richard Gould told reporters the club would round that figure up to 5,000 pounds (7,696 dollars).

Pakistan play the first of two Twenty20 internationals against England, both in Cardiff, on Sunday.

The teams then contest a five-match one-day series starting at the Riverside, the home ground of northeast county Durham, on September 10. AGENCIES

Sialkot lynching: ATC orders physical remand of 17 culprits

SIALKOT: Accountability Terrorism Court (ATC) Gujranwala has handed over 17 culprits involved in the brutal killing of two brothers in Sialkot, to the police for seven days of physical remand, said sources Monday.

The 17 accused were presented in court under the Article 302, 149, 148 and 497. While the remaining six police officials involved in the incident will be presented tomorrow.

Teenage brothers, Hafiz Mugheez and Muneeb, were mercilessly killed by a mob in the presence of police and Rescue 1122 personnel in Buttar Village, situated on the outskirts of Sialkot on August 15

Australia shocked by new fixing claims over Sydney test

MELBOURNE: Australia's cricketers remain convinced their test victory over Pakistan in Sydney earlier this year was achieved fairly after the contest has once again become the subject of match-fixing allegations.

On Saturday, police in London arrested a man for offering bribes to some Pakistan players for spot fixing in the fourth test against England at Lord's following claims in the tabloid newspaper, the News of the World.

The man also told the newspaper the Sydney test in January, which Australia won by 36 runs after overcoming a 206-run first innings deficit before dismissing Pakistan for 139 in their run chase, had been fixed.

The match was investigated by the ICC's anti-corruption unit, while the Pakistan tour of Australia, in which the tourists lost all of their matches, was the subject to an inquiry by the Pakistani board.

"As a cricketer everything I have seen so far has been quite shocking to tell the truth," Australia captain Ricky Ponting told ABC radio on Monday.

"The way we won (in Sydney) was one of the more satisfying moments that I've had on the cricket field.

"And now when some of these things come to light is when you start to slightly doubt some of the things that have happened.

"We all felt that we'd done everything in our power after a shaky start on day one.

"It wasn't until... maybe even a couple of months after that game was over that it (match-fixing speculation) all sort of started."

Batsman Mike Hussey, whose 134 not out in the second innings and 123-run ninth wicket stand with Peter Siddle helped set up the win, and off-spinner Nathan Hauritz also told local media they felt the victory was achieved fairly.

Cricket Australia said they were also shocked by the revelations but had no doubt the team had won the match on their merits.

"The reports from the UK are most disturbing and we look forward to the outcome of rigourous investigation by the UK authorities as well as by the ICC," CA chief executive James Sutherland said in a statement on Monday.

"We have no knowledge of the current allegations but by their very nature, they demonstrate the absolute importance of world cricket maintaining its vigilance in relation to anti-corruption."

The man at the centre of the allegations was released without charge on police bail on Monday, according to the BBC. AGENCIES

ICC to probe 80 int’l games, Mazhar Majeed released

LONDON: More than 80 international cricket matches will be investigated amid allegations that a London businessman has been running a multi-million-pound match-fixing racket.

Mazhar Majeed, British property developer and sports agent, was arrested on suspicion of rigging a test match between England and Pakistan at Lords. He was released on bail earlier today but will have to appear before police at a later date.

Scotland Yard may have been tipped off a month ago about match-fixing in the first match of the England vs. Pakistan Test series at Trent Bridge in Nottingham, it has been reported.

Four Pakistan players were questioned over the weekend as part of a Scotland Yard inquiry into claims they had taken orders from Majeed to corrupt a Test match at Lord’s.

Sources said that the passports of the cricketers under investigation could be seized and that up to seven players could be questioned on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud. The rest of the squad could also be interviewed as potential witnesses.

Conspiracy to defraud carries a maximum jail term of 10 years.

England’s victory to seal the four-match series yesterday was tainted as details of the scandal emerged.

In a tabloid newspaper sting, Mr. Majeed claimed that he had been running a racket with seven players for “about two and a half years” and added “we’ve made masses and masses of money.”

According to the newspaper before the game at Lord’s, he specifically ordered two of Pakistan's players to deliver deliberate no-balls, by overstepping the crease as they bowled.

They did so exactly at the moments he pinpointed on Thursday and Friday. Mr. Majeed reportedly claimed that by tipping off betting syndicates they could place “spot” bets and make millions of pounds.

He also made more serious claims that he could arrange to have players throw test matches and one-day internationals, it is alleged.

An international newspaper disclosed that Mr. Majeed, who presents himself as a property tycoon and football club owner, owes thousands of pounds to unpaid bills and a string of companies that have closed in his wake.

Faisal Hameed, a former business partner of Mr. Majeed, said that three years ago their Croydon-based company, Bluesky Developments, which sponsored some of Pakistan's players, was dissolved after it began losing money due to the financial crisis.

Sources said that the International Cricket Council’s anti-corruption unit, whose investigators flew in from their base in Dubai yesterday, would study all 82 tests and one-day matches played by Pakistan in the period Mr. Majeed reportedly claimed to have rigged matches.

They will work with the Metropolitan Police, who are leading the inquiry into the allegation that two bowlers — Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif — deliberately bowled no-balls at Lord’s after Mr. Majeed was handed £150,000.

The team manager confirmed that detectives raided the players’ hotel on Saturday night, seizing their mobile phones. Amir, Asif, Salman Butt the team captain and Kamran Akmal the wicketkeeper have all been questioned and provided statements to police. Mr. Majeed, 35, was arrested on Saturday night on conspiracy to defraud bookmakers.

The accounts of Bluesky and Croydon Athletic football club, a non-league team owned by him, will be studied by detectives. According to the reports, Mr. Majeed boasted he laundered the proceeds of the match-fixing racket through the club.

The inquiry will be led by the Specialist and Economic Crime Department – which has also investigated MPs suspected of fraud expenses.

Commentators said that earlier tests at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge, which featured a host of no-balls, wides and dropped catches, had also raised suspicions.

President Asif Ali Zardari was said to have asked for a report from the country’s cricket board on the allegations.

After their defeat yesterday, the Pakistani players were booed by their own supporters and their bus had tomatoes thrown at it as it left Lord’s. A group of about 20 Pakistan fans directed abuse at Butt, chanting “match-fixer.”

He rejected calls for him to step down from the captaincy. “These are just allegations, anyone can say anything about anyone, that doesn’t make them true,” Butt said after the game.

In an article, Ramiz Raja, the former Pakistan captain, wrote: “The people back home are suffering because of the fight against fundamentalism and the floods… Now it is a new scandal and it has hurt the entire country because of the love and admiration they have for the players.”

Lord Condon, the former head of ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit, has previously confirmed that Pakistan’s tour of Australia last January was under investigation to assess whether the poor performance was a result of a “dysfunctional” team or “something more serious.”

Mr. Majeed’s brother and business partner, Azhar, insisted yesterday that the allegations were “just rubbish.”

Angus Fraser, England's former bowler said: “Everyone with a deep love or interest for the game will be absolutely appalled by these allegations

Pak cricket fans take out donkey rally against players

LAHORE: After hearing about the involvement of seven Pakistani players in the match fixing scam in England, Lahore's cricket lovers have taken out a donkey rally to express their anger that is gradually mounting in the masses, SAMAA reported Monday. Pakistani cricket fans expressed their annoyance over the scandal by staging protests in the various cities of the country; all protesters were furious at the alleged role the top seven players of the team have played in this scam. People chose various ways to express their anger, but residents of Sant Nagar, Lahore, surpassed all by taking out a donkey rally. Every donkey was tagged with the name of an accused player; people showered them with tomatoes and dirty eggs. The donkey rally protesters demanded a life time ban to be imposed on all the involved players and they should be severely punished for putting shame to the nation

Two held in Lahore over match-fixing issue

LAHORE: Police have arrested two persons in connection with their alleged involvement in match-fixing and money laundering.

The arrested men are reported to have links with the Dubai-based Mendis Group.

Race Course Police raided a match-fixing point and arrested two persons, Hasan and Amir, besides seizing more than 100 mobile phones, computers and cash.

According to reports, the arrested men have contacts with bookies in England, South Africa and Dubai.

British police said they had arrested a man on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers following newspaper allegations of match-fixing in the ongoing cricket Test between England and Pakistan.

The News of the World alleged that some members of the Pakistan team were involved in a scam in the fourth and final Test at Lord's.

"Following information received from the News of the World, we have arrested a 35-year old man on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers," a spokesman for London's Metropolitan Police told a foreign news agency.

News of the World, Britain's biggest-selling newspaper, alleged that two Pakistan bowlers delivered three blatant no-balls.

The weekly tabloid said it gave 150,000 pounds to a middle man who correctly told them in advance precisely when the deliveries would be bowled.

The newspaper published images and dialogue from the encounter and a picture of what it said was one of the promised no-balls on Friday.

It also ran a photograph of Pakistan captain Salman Butt standing with the man they claimed was the middleman, and one of their reporters

Pakistan embroiled in cricket 'match-fixing' probe

      

LONDON: Pakistan's embattled cricket team were embroiled in allegations of match-fixing on Sunday after British police arrested a man on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers. The controversy erupted after the News of the World alleged some members of the Pakistan team were involved in a betting scam in the ongoing fourth and final Test against England at Lord's. Britain's biggest-selling newspaper claimed several blatant no-balls had been delivered by Pakistan bowlers. The weekly tabloid said it gave 150,000 pounds (230,000 dollars, 185,000 euros) to a middle man who correctly told them in advance precisely when those deliveries would be bowled. "Following information received from the News of the World we have arrested a 35-year-old man on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers," a spokesman for London's Metropolitan Police said. Despite the latest controversy swirling around the game, the International Cricket Council (ICC) insisted the fourth Test would continue as scheduled on Sunday, adding that no "players nor team officials have been arrested in relation to this incident". Pakistan tour manager Yawar Saeed added: "I can confirm we are aware of the allegations. Scotland Yard (Metropolitan) police are with us now at our hotel and we are helping them with their enquiries. "This is as much as I can say at the moment." The News of the World published images and dialogue from the encounter and a picture of what it said was one of the promised no-balls delivered on Friday. It also ran a photograph of Pakistan captain Salman Butt standing with the man they claimed was the middleman, and one of their reporters. The News of the World claimed their reporters had posed as front men for an Asian gambling cartel, paying 10,000 pounds to the alleged fixer as an upfront deposit. They met again on Wednesday in a west London hotel room to hand over the rest of the money as their "entry ticket" into what they claimed was a "huge betting syndicate". They claimed the middle man then correctly predicted when the no-balls would be bowled. The newspaper showed the alleged fixer with piles of cash on a table. Meanwhile, the ICC said the match would continue as planned on Sunday at Lord's, the spiritual home of the game. "The International Cricket Council, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have been informed by the Metropolitan Police that a 35-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers," said an ICC statement. "The Metropolitan Police have informed the ICC, ECB and PCB that their investigations continue and ICC, ECB and PCB, with the involvement of the ICC Anti Corruption and Security Unit, are fully assisting those enquiries. "No players nor team officials have been arrested in relation to this incident and the fourth Test match will continue as scheduled on Sunday. "As this is now subject to a police investigation neither ICC, ECB, PCB nor the ground authority, MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club), will make any further comment," it added. Pakistan, who have been dogged by 'fixing' allegations since the 1990s, collapsed spectacularly yet again Saturday to leave England closing in on an innings victory. At stumps, Pakistan, following on, were 41 for four in their second innings, having been dismissed for just 74 first time around. That left them still 331 runs adrift of England's first innings 446 as the home team eyed a victory that would give them a 3-1 win in their final series before they begin the defence of the Ashes in Australia in November. There was also a controversial finish to Pakistan's 2006 Test series in England. They forfeited the final match at The Oval in south London, having refused to take the field after tea on the fourth day because they'd been penalised for ball-tampering. Pakistan have been unable to play matches at home since an armed attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore in March last year effectively turned the country into a 'no-go area' for international cricket