Cricket chief ‘not happy’ with Pakistan players

Asked by Jon Snow if the Pakistani cricketers under scrutiny for a spot betting scam following claims by a News of the World sting, could continue playing in the England tour, ICC head Haroon Lorgat said: “We would not be happy with that.

“That’s part of what we’re working through in the next few days. I don’t want to pre-empt anything and would rather the due process takes its course. It’s a very sensitive issue and I think we should let the law and the due process take its course.”

Despite Mr Lorgat’s feelings on the players taking the field for their country on Thursday against Somerset and Saturday against England again, he stressed that the ICC “does not have unilateral powers to suspend players” unless they are charged.

The ICC, along with the Met Police and Pakistan’s top law enforcement agency, is investigating allegations that the Pakistani players were part of a spot betting ring.

Four Pakistani players have been questioned by police over the allegations – Pakistan’s captain Salman Butt, bowlers Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif and wicket keeper Kamran Akmal, although Akmal is no longer part of that investigation.

Butt, Aamer and Asif are due to travel back to London tomorrow to discuss match-fixing allegations with top Pakistani officials.

Team manager Yawar Saeed announced tomorrow’s meeting would take place between the cricketers and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt and the country’s high commissioner.

After the meeting, the players will be expected to return to the squad, he said.

The PCB, the High Commission and Pakistan’s sports ministry in Islamabad held a conference call today to discuss the best way forward.

Despite the allegations and investigation – and the arrival of a delegation representing Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency yesterday also looking into the situation – the team is still set to play Somerset on Thursday and a Twenty20 game against England on Sunday, and the official line at this stage is that they players will take the field.

But speculation is building that the players will be asked to withdraw unless the issue is resolved.

Team coach Waqar Younis, in Taunton today with the team, said: “All I am going to try to do is try and get the team up again and make sure that we deliver the best we can in the next few games.

“It is no doubt a big challenge and I will try to make the most of it and make sure that everybody is nicely focused for the games.”

Somerset County Cricket Club told Channel 4 News ticket sales for Thursday’s game had been “average”, with around 2,500 sold so far and around another 2,000 members expected to attend. The figures suggest the scandal is neither deterring, nor encouraging cricket fans.

Richard Gould, chief executive of Somerset said he was keen for the game to be played, despite the scandal.

“The show should definitely go on. We need to make sure that cricket can regain its credibility and the best way of doing that is allowing the cricketers to get out there and play,” he said.

However he said the players at the centre of the row should miss the match if they did not want to play.

“Those players may still want to have a degree of space in which they can consider how they can move forward with the serious allegations that are being put to them.”

'Unthinkable' if Pakistan banned from Test cricket 
Along with the Met, Pakistan has sent in a team from their Federal Investigation Agency. Unlike the Met, these guys are under direct political pressure from the top of government in Islamabad, to get results - and fast, writes Channel 4 News Chief Correspondent Alex Thomson. 

Unable to play Test Cricket at home because of the real threat of political violence - the nation stares in the face the prospect of not playing it at all.

This is unthinkable in Pakistan.

Mr Lorgat said he hoped the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU), which is investigating the allegations and helping the police with their criminal enquiry, would get results by the weekend.

He told Channel 4 News: “Of course I am concerned. I am very disappointed. We would like the performances of the players to be on the front and back pages, not these sorts of activities.”

He said that protecting the integrity of cricket was “paramount” and the ICC would do all they can to protect it.

He said the organisation has a “zero tolerance” policy on corruption and added: “We are always looking to improve whatever the processes, whatever the procedures, whatever the structures are, and if it is required certainly we would do that.”

Arrest
A man, identified as 35-year-old agent, Mazhar Majeed was arrested on Saturday night over the allegations and has since been released on bail.

Three people were arrested on Sunday, questioned and then bailed over an “ongoing money laundering investigation”.

A spokeswoman for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs said: “Three individuals were arrested on Sunday as part of an ongoing investigation into money laundering.

This includes two 35 year olds (a male and a female) from the Croydon area, and a 49 year old male from the Wembley area. These individuals were arrested, questioned and have been bailed pending further investigation.”

She declined to comment over whether the three arrests were linked to the cricket betting investigation.

Allegations
The allegations centre around the timing of no-balls bowled during the Lord’s Test against England.

The News of the World’s reporting team, posing as Far Eastern businessmen, paid a middleman £150,000 in return for exact details of when no-balls would be bowled in the following day’s play.

Pakistan’s prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said: “The latest fixing allegations have bowed our heads in shame.”

Approaches

Geoff Lawson, Pakistan’s coach between 2007-08 told Channel 4 News that he had previously seen threats made against team selectors.

“In my time with Pakistan, certainly from a game point of view I certainly didn’t see any match fixing or spot fixing or even anything vaguely suspicious,” he said.

“I didn’t see any players threatened about performance and maybe that goes along with the fact that I didn’t see any unusually on-field performance.

“But certainly I saw at least one selector have a threat made against him that if a certain player wasn’t picked in a team that selector would have a member of their family would be kidnapped, and I think the claim was never seen again.”

Two Australian cricket players also said today they had been approached for similar betting rings.

Indian bookmakers targeted all-rounded Shane Watson and wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, the men confirmed a press conference today in Sydney. Watson was contacted during last year’s Ashes tour in England and Haddin during this year’s World Twenty20 in the West Indies.

Both said they had reported the incidents to team management but insisted they were never asked to alter the result of a match.

Watson said he was invited out for a drink by someone he did not know, and reported the approach to team manager Steve Bernard and John Rhodes, who manages the ICC’s anti-corruption unit ACSU in Australia and New Zealand.

“I think they checked footage of who the person was and it was someone that they were well aware of,” he said.

“I heard that Brad Haddin had a similar conversation with an Indian guy and, after talking with him as well and describing the gentleman that was talking to us, it seemed like it was the same guy.”