Match-fixing storm hits Pak cricket again

A London bookie was arrested after a sting operation by the tabloid News of the World exposed alleged spot-fixing fixing small events or portions of a game rather than the match itself and a nexus between the players and the bookie.

The tabloid alleged that the fixer,a Pakistani man called Mazhar Majeed,paid players to bowl no-balls in the Lords Test. Video evidence presented by the tabloid to the police showed Majeed discussing a deal with an undercover reporter,and then getting Amir and Asif to bowl no-balls at pre-determined moments in the Test as proof of what he could do.

Our undercover team was posing as front men for a far east gambling cartel. In return for their suitcase of money Majeed then calmly detailed what would happen and when on the field of play next day,as a taster of all the lucrative information he could supply in future, News of the World reported.

Majeed claimed to have paid some Pakistani players in excess of 150,000 pounds to fix the Lords Test. One of his accomplices was also picked up for questioning.

Majeed also spoke about his links with Indian bookies. I deal with an Indian party. They pay me for information, Majeed is shown as saying on the video.

Late on Sunday India time,News of the World released more video footage that could implicate more players in the scandal.

The video showed Majeed saying he needed to pay 10,000 pounds in advance before the Pakistani players could be introduced to the reporter. The reporter gives him the money,which Majeed puts in a jacket. He is then shown introducing the reporter to Umar Amin and Wahab Riaz,and giving the jacket to one of the players.

News of the World also reported that Pakistan team manager Yawar Saeed has confirmed that Salman Butt,Amir and Asif have had their mobile telephones confiscated by the police. Telephones yes,only these three gentlemen8230; the skipper,and Asif and the third one was Mohammad Amir8230; The police have taken their mobile phones away, Saeed was quoted as saying.

The manager told Sky Sports,We got to the hotel at about 7.30 pm last night and I was just settling into my room when I got a message that Scotland Yard officers are here and would like to see me. They said,On a tip-off we want to investigate some of your players. I said,Please go ahead,well assist you whatever way we can.

Saeed said Pakistan will not pull out of the tour. Not while Im manager,they will not run away from any match.

At a press conference at the end of the Test today,skipper Butt said he had seen no evidence that he is implicated in any of the allegations. There is nothing I have seen,or been shown,that involves me, Butt said. He said he would not step down as captain as a result of the scandal.

The International Cricket Council ICC said it was aware of the developments but as this is now subject to a police investigation neither ICC,ECB,PCB nor the ground authority,the MCC,will make any further comment.

Amid shock and outrage in Pakistan,President Asif Ali Zardari,who is also patron of the Pakistan Cricket Board,expressed disappointment and concern. A spokesman said the President had asked PCB chairman Ijaz Butt for a report.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said the incident had forced Pakistanis to hang their heads in shame. He said he would ask sports authorities to launch an inquiry into the allegations.

Iqbal Muhammad Ali,head of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Sports,blamed the PCB and its chairman Ijaz Butt for the humiliation. If these players are guilty we want to see them behind bars, Ali said.

Names of Pakistani players have cropped up repeatedly in allegations of match-fixing. Most recently,former coach Intikhab Alam and assistant coach Aaqib Javed expressed suspicions about Kamran Akmals involvement with bookies after assessing his performance in the Sydney Test against Australia last winter.

Cricinfo reported that the Pakistani team had been warned about meeting Mazhar Majeed and his brother Azhar Majeed by the team management at the start of the England tour. The brothers are agents who represent a number of Pakistani players in the UK.

When we started this tour,I told the players they should not be entertaining these two in their hotel rooms, Yawar Saeed told the cricket website. These boys are their agents and,anywhere we tour in the world,we tell our players that they are not allowed to have agents in their hotel rooms. It is the policy on the tour.