| Pakistan's cricket future has grown significantly more clouded after it emerged that English administrators may rule out further neutral matches in Britain. Test skipper Salman Butt and seam bowlers Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif returned home on Friday after they were suspended by the International Cricket Council (ICC) following allegations of deliberate no-balls in last month's Test at Lord's as part of a betting scam. The claims have sparked an international furore and vastly overshadowed the subsequent action on the field. All the suspended trio have been interviewed by British police and Pakistan seamer Wahab Riaz, still in the one-day squad, is due to be questioned by detectives next week. While ICC and police investigations continue, the dual effect of negative headlines and poor gate receipts has pushed the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) towards blocking the use of their venues for more matches to follow Pakistan's series against Australia earlier this year. This would leave the Pakistani team with nowhere else to play "home" fixtures other than Dubai and Abu Dhabi, where they are scheduled to meet South Africa next year. The ECB had harboured thoughts of hosting matches between Pakistan and India in the British Isles, but those plans, alongside more modest ones to host a one day series between the Pakistanis and Sri Lanka, have now been shelved. "Nobody is thinking about that one any more," an ECB official told London's Sunday Telegraph. Although a number of figures including Australian captain Ricky Ponting have urged the international community to not shun Pakistan for the alleged corruption of four players, it seems inevitable that the country will be treated harshly. Despite the fact, security problems and the disastrous consequences of recent flooding have left Pakistan in more need of support than ever. Gone is much of the goodwill that allowed the scheduling of the Tests against Australia, dubbed the "spirit of cricket series" by an optimistic ICC earlier in the year. Pakistan's torturous tour of England goes on, meanwhile, with Captain Shahid Afridi arguing that there was still time to salvage some respect from the rubble. "We all want to go home with respect," said Afridi, ahead of the second one-day international at Headingley on Sunday. "We want to play some good cricket and get some victories. "Yesterday (Friday) the performance was much better, not 100 per cent, but I was quite happy with the efforts from the boys." But he admitted it was difficult to remain upbeat with such a pall hanging over the squad. "We all know we are playing in a very tough situation, but we are trying to forget everything that is going on. "It's not easy, but everyone is looking to us and we need to keep our image." |
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