ICC to update cricketers on anti-corruption before Cup

BANGALORE: Players and support staff will be updated on anti-corruption methods before next year's World Cup in the Indian sub-continent, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Wednesday. "It is absolutely vital for our flagship event and the future prosperity of cricket that we maintain public confidence in the integrity of the game," ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said in a statement after a meeting of the 2011 World Cup Central Organising Committee (COC). "Repeating the education and awareness to players and support staff will leave no room for doubt. We are committed to a zero-tolerance approach to corruption." Cricket is battling a spot-fixing controversy which led to the provisional suspension of three Pakistani players and shed light on the huge illegal betting industry in the Indian sub-continent. ICC President Sharad Pawar, who chaired the meeting, promised top class facilities and assured stadiums would be ready by the end of this year. "We have confirmed our deadline date for the completion of all stadia construction work to be 30 November 2010 and all playing facilities to be match-ready by 31 December 2010." Lorgat said ICC had been assured that proper safety and security measures would be put in place for the event. The COC also announced that the Indian company which organised the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony will do the same for the World Cup which India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will jointly host from Feb. 19 to April 2. AGENCIES

Pakistan thrash Scotland by 3-0 in opening match

NEWDEHLI: Pakistan made a winning start to their campaign in the Commonwealth Games, thrashing Scotland 3-0 in their opening Pool A match here on Tuesday. Shakeel Abbasi opened the scoring for Pakistan in the 20th minute before ace forward Rehann Butt slammed a goal from the top of the circle 10 minutes from half-time at a near-empty Major Dhyan Chand stadium. Muhammad Imran made it 3-0 when he converted the first of the four penalty corners that Pakistan earned in the match in the 43rd minute. Pakistan, who finished last at the same venue in the World Cup earlier this year, seemed to have left memories of that botched campaign firmly behind them as they took control of the proceedings right from the first whistle. The defeated finalists of the 2006 Melbourne Games, Pakistan next face Malaysia before taking on hot favourites Australia and arch-rivals India. Butt said his side was relieved to have crossed the first hurdle with ease. "We are really pleased that we could start off with a victory," the 30-year-old said. "We have some tough matches coming up against Australia and India and the win today will boost our confidence." Butt was disappointed with the poor attendance at the stadium Tuesday but hoped more people would turn up for Pakistan's match against the home team. "A player always gives his best when there is a good crowd to cheer the good moves. May be the early timings and the heat kept the crowd away. But I am sure there will be many who will come to watch us play India." In a Pool B match played earlier, New Zealand men spanked Trinidad and Tobago 7-1 with Andrew Hayward and Blair Hilton slamming in two goals each. Hugo Inglis, Hayden Shaw and Nick Haig were the other scorers for the Black Sticks while Wayne Legerton netted the lone goal for Trinidad and Tobago.AGENCIES

Salman Butt submits suspension review plea to ICC

London: A spokesman of the International Cricket Council (ICC) has confirmed that Salman Butt’s appeal to review his suspension has been received by the world cricket body.

While talking to SAMAA, ICC spokesman Sami-ul-Hassan said that Salman Butt’s appeal against temporary suspension was received on Wednesday.

He added that earlier Salman Butt submitted a plea through his counsel, but now his personal appeal in an individual capacity has reached the ICC. The spokesman added further that individual appeals of Muhammad Asif and Muhammad Aamir have not yet been received.

After the notorious spot fixing scandal exposed by a UK tabloid weekly, ICC had suspended Salman Butt, Muhammad Asif and Muhammad Aamir temporarily

Banned players can still appeal to courts

LONDON: Any player banned for life under the International Cricket Council's (ICC) anti-corruption code can still attempt to have the sanction overturned by a civil court, according to a leading British sports lawyer. Pakistan test captain Salman Butt and pace bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif have been suspended by the ICC following an investigation into corruption allegations. The charges carry a maximum sanction of a life ban if upheld by an independent tribunal. Adam Morallee, a partner in the London law firm Mishcon de Reya, said there were still several options open to any player faced with an ICC ban. In a telephone interview with a British news agency, Morallee said the first non-ICC avenue of appeal for any cricketer charged with an anti-corruption offence was the independent Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). He could also attempt to appeal to a court in the country in which the alleged offence was committed, or to a court in his home country. "These governing bodies are subject to the laws of the various countries. They are just the same as any company or organisation, subject to the same rules and regulations as everyone else," Morallee said. "Other entities try their best to close their world in and tell everyone only we can make decisions about us. That's just not the case." In 1997 the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) was forced to cut its four-year doping ban for first offenders in half after a series of costly legal battles in European courts which took the view that the longer ban constituted restraint of trade. Two German track and field athletes successfully applied for reinstatement halfway through four-year bans. The ICC's anti-corruption code stipulates that players must submit to the authority of the world governing body, its judicial commission and to CAS. Furthermore, it says players cannot initiate proceedings "in any court or other forum that are inconsistent with the foregoing submissions to the jurisdiction of the anti-corruption Tribunal and the CAS". However, Morallee said that in practice players could appeal to whomever they liked. "The ICC will have some very good defences in proceedings if a player tries to challenge their decision in the courts. They will say a player has effectively signed away his life to this tribunal, and therefore is barred from bringing proceedings in another court. In effect, he has lost and he can't do anything about it," he said. "But a national court could theoretically grant jurisdiction and then, if the punishment was grave, rule that a life ban was an unjustifiable restraint of trade, the punishment was far too harsh and, therefore, disproportionate." Under this scenario, Morallee said, any national cricket board would be "between a rock and a hard place". "The ICC will say he is banned from international cricket and a court will say he should be allowed to play," he said. "It will not be easy for a national association to reconcile those differences.

GEOiNEWS: PPP is ‘one man show’: Naheed Khan

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Shoaib Akhtar tampered with ball in final ODI

LONDON: A British newspaper claims Pakistan pace bowler Shoaib Akhtar tampered with the ball in the final one-day international against England on Tuesday.

The pictures shows Akhtar running his left thumb along the ball's seam before dropping the ball on the ground and standing on it with his spiked right boot.

The pictures were taken in the 41st over of England's innings in Southampton as Shoaib prepared to bowl to Paul Collingwood.

It is not the first time Shoaib, 35, has come under the spotlight at the Rose Bowl.

Four years ago, he was filmed by Sky cameras flicking at the ball with his thumb during a one-day international here against England.

On that occasion Shoaib was cleared but was warned about his behaviour after being accused of tampering with the ball during a Test match in Zimbabwe in late 2002.

The following year he was banned for two ODIs and fined 75 per cent of his match fee after being found guilty of the same crime against New Zealand in Sri Lanka. Monitoring Desk

ECB demand PCB full apology for fixing allegations

SOUTHAMPTON: The England and Wales Cricket Board demanded on Thursday a ‘full and unreserved apology’ from Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt for his allegations that England players had engaged in match-fixing. "Mr Butt has been advised that if a satisfactory response is not received, legal proceedings will be commenced against him without further notice," an ECB statement said. The threat follows an interview given by Butt to a private television channel after England lost the third one-day international against Pakistan at the Oval last Friday. Butt said there had been “loud and clear talk in bookies' circles that some English players were paid enormous amounts of money to lose (Friday's) match". In a BBC radio interview before Monday's fourth match at Lord's, Butt said he had been merely repeating information he had received from bookmakers. His comments came after the International Cricket Council said it was launching an inquiry into Pakistan's scoring pattern at the Oval after receiving information from a British newspaper. Thursday's ECB statement said a letter from the board and the Professional Cricketers' Association had been sent to Butt. "The letter seeks a full and unreserved apology," the statement said. Pakistan's acrimonious tour of England and Wales concluded on Wednesday when England clinched the five-match 50 overs series at the Rose Bowl in Southampton. Pakistan test captain Salman Butt and his team mates Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif had been suspended after an investigation into a newspaper report that they had arranged for no-balls to be deliberately delivered in the fourth test at Lord's.