 TAUNTON: The three Pakistan cricketers embroiled in spot-fixing allegations are to leave the squad on Wednesday to face their cricket chief and government authorities, de facto sidelining them from the team.
Test captain Salman Butt, plus bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif, were to leave Pakistan’s training camp in Taunton, southwest England, and head to London for a meeting with officials.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has said it will not suspend them while the allegations are being investigated, though their date in London means they are set to miss the next match, effectively deferring the highly contentious decision over whether they should play on.
Pakistan are due to face county side Somerset in Taunton on Thursday in a warm-up match ahead of their limited overs internationals against England.
Butt, Amir and Asif are set to miss out as they head for talks with PCB chairman Ijaz Butt and Wajid Shamsul Hasan, Pakistan’s high commissioner (ambassador) to Britain.
It is thought the three players will not rejoin the squad until Friday at the earliest.
It appears increasingly likely that they will play no further part in the tour.
Following the Somerset warm-up, Pakistan face two Twenty20 matches against England in Cardiff on Sunday and Tuesday, then five one-day internationals.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has promised “prompt and decisive action” if the “spot-fixing” allegations made by Britain’s biggest-selling newspaper are proven.
Customs officials in Britain said they had arrested and bailed two men and a woman on Sunday “as part of an ongoing investigation into money laundering”.
A source confirmed the arrests were linked to the cricket scandal.
They were a man and a woman, both aged 35 and from Croydon in south London, and a 49-year-old man from Wembley in northwest London.
“These individuals were arrested, questioned and have been bailed pending further investigation,” Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs said in a statement.
The News of the World tabloid alleges that Mazhar Majeed, a 35-year-old Croydon-based agent for several Pakistan players, took 150,000 pounds (185,000 euros, 230,000 dollars) to arrange for deliberate no-balls to be bowled at precise points in the final Test match against England in London last week.
The information would be of enormous value to the spot-betting industry, where money is wagered on specific incidents in matches.
The weekly newspaper produced audiovisual footage of their dealings with Majeed on their website and printed conversation transcripts and pictures.
Majeed was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers in the wake of the allegations, but was released on bail without charge on Sunday, to return on a future date.
Detectives interviewed Butt, Asif and 18-year-old prodigy Amir, who delivered the no-balls – normally an accidental and unpredictable occurrence – and police seized their mobile phones.
Pakistan held a training session at the County Ground in Taunton on Tuesday, but reporters were barred on the request of the Pakistan team.
Somerset chief executive Richard Gould told AFP: “I think in these particular circumstances, we understand.”
The world of cricket has reacted with shock and dismay to claims that huge sums of money had changed hands in alleged fixing schemes at international level, linked to shadowy betting rings.
Investigators from the ICC’s anti-corruption and security unit are in Britain looking into the allegations. —AFP |
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Updated at: 07 February 2012
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| 3rd Test: England finish at 36-0 in 324-run chase against Pakistan  DUBAI: England, chasing a big 324-run target, closed the third day at 36-0 in the third and final Test against Pakistan at Dubai Stadium on Sunday.
Andrew Strauss (19) and Alastair Cook (15) were at the crease when the stumps were drawn. They need another 288 runs for a win with all ten wickets intact.
Pakistan, leading the series 2-0, made 365 in their second innings.
Scoreboard:
Pakistan 1st innings 99 (Asad Shafiq 45; S. Broad 4-36, J. Anderson 3-35)
England 1st innings 141 (A. Strauss ...
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Updated at: 07 February 2012
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| I’ve signed a British film: Veena Malik  ... claims Pakistani starlet Veena Malik, who is crossing over from Bollywood to international cinema
She is yet to make her Bollywood debut, but Pakistani starlet Veena Malik is already contemplating international cinema. The controversial actor informs BT that she has signed a British film, in which she has a powerful role. "I am getting many offers from across the globe. Recently, a UK film team was in Dubai and I was shortlisting a few offers that would suit me. I have zeroed in on a few ...
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| SC suspends membership of 28 MPs elected through by-polls  ISLAMABAD / LAHORE: The Supreme Court has suspended the membership of 28 parliamentarians who were elected to their seats in the National Assembly and Senate through by-polls held after the 18th amendment.
The order came on Monday as Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry resumed hearing of a ...
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Gilani headed to Qatar to discuss Afghan peace efforts in the ultra-rich Gulf state where the Taliban and ...
| | Kashmir – key milestone for Indo-Pak growth: Shankar  NEW DELHI: Indian Congressman and the former member of Indian parliament Mani Shankar described Kashmir issue being the biggest milestone to be surpassed if the two countries want serious progress on other sectors, reports SAMAA.
He said all the other longstanding issues would automatically come to ...
| | 50 trapped under debris after boiler explosion  LAHORE: At least 50 people were feared trapped under rubble of a three-storey building of a pharmaceutical company that collapsed due to a boiler explosion, Geo News reported.
Three houses alongside the building also razed to the ground.
According to the details, two dead bodies and five injured ...
| | SC deadline on 'by-polls legal cover' ends today  ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court of Pakistan’s deadline regarding legality of by-elections is ending today (Monday), Geo News reported.
According to details the fate of 28 parliamentarians hangs in balance as they would be rendered disqualified if government failed to have the 20th Constitutional amendment ...
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