Akram and his ilk await anxiously as crucial ICC meet begins

Akram, Mushtaq Ahmed, Waqar Younis, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Saeed Anwar were all fined by a Pakistani judicial enquiry led by Justice Malik Qayyum.Former Pakistani fast bowler Ata-ur-Rehman alleged that Akram paid him to underperform during a One-Day clash against New Zealand at Christchurch in 1994.

The Qayyum Report, which recommended life-bans for Rehman and Salim Malik, ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the charges against Akram but nonetheless implicated him in match-fixing.

Akram will not find support from Lord MacLaurin, chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), who is expected to call for Akram to be stood down from Pakistan’s forthcoming series against England until the matter is sorted out.

“It’s ridiculous,” MacLaurin was quoted by British newspapers as saying before he left for Nairobi. “If someone is under suspicion he should be removed from the game until his case is heard and his innocence proven.” “If an england player were involved that’s what would happen.”

Akram has signalled that he will refuse to pay the fine “on principle”. Griffiths could recommend that the fine be overturned or increased. He could even say that Akram should be stood down from the three-Test match series which begins next month.

But the most likely recommendation will be to ask the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to take another look into the matter.

The United Cricket Board of South Africa could also come under fire at the meeting over apparent lenient treatment of Herschelle Gibbs and Henry Williams.

Both said they agreed to take money to underperform during a match but said they did not collect it after deciding they would play to the best of their abilities. They were banned from international cricket for six months but have been allowed to play the domestic game.

The meeting will also decide the remit and structure of a new anti-corruption programme, headed by Sir Paul Condon, the former head of London’s Metropolitan Police.

Matters on the field are also being examined with a new definitive policy on suspect bowling actions to be released by the board. Kenyan hopes for Test status could also receive a boost with England, New Zealand and Australia expected to throw their weight behind the African side to try and reduce the increased power of the Asian block after Bangladesh became a Test playing nation earlier this year.

— Reuters