My Pakistan Search: 2010

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi finally says sorry

By Gary Fitzgerald 5/09/2010

Pakistan's Test opener sparks new match-fixing storm on the day that skipper Shahid Afridi finally says..

Shahid Afridi has issued a shock apology over the alleged "spot-fixing" scandal which has rocked cricket.

The Pakistan One-day captain said "sorry" on behalf of the three players caught up in the ugly Lord's controversy.

Pakistan captain Butt and bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were charged by the ICC under their anti-corruption code and provisionally suspended a f t e r a l l e g at i o n s o f deliberately bowling "no balls" in the Fourth Test.

The players - dropped for the rest of the tour - were released without charge by police after being questioned as part of the ongoing investigation into whether they accepted money from agent and businessman Mazhar Majeed.

Until yesterday, the Pakistanis have refused to condemn the players, insisting they are innocent until proven guilty.

And they have even tried to claim the whole saga a being a set-up.

But, as Pakistan prepared for today's first Twenty20 clash with England in Cardiff, Afridi revealed the first sign of remorse.

He insisted: "It is very bad news. On behalf of the players, I want to say sorry to cricket lovers in all cricketing nations.

"People are very upset and despondent.

"The only thing we can do now is play good cricket.

"That's all we can do.

"I've told the boys 'don't read the newspapers'.

"I know they are very upset."

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Howeve r, t h e tourists were rocked last night by the allgeation from Yasir Hameed that match-fixing had been going on throughout their visit to England this summer.

Yasir, 32, played in the third Test at The Oval. He claimed last night: "It makes me angry because I'm playing my best and they are trying to lose.

"They've been caught. Only the ones that get caught are branded crooks."

He added: "They were doing it in almost every match.

"God knows what they were up to. Scotland Yard was after them for ages."

Pakistan coach Waqar Younis revealed Butt, Asif and Amir could still be a part of future Pakistan squads, insisting: "I am not sure what is going to happen, but if they are cleared they will always be welcome back. It is a big loss to the Pakistan cricket team. It's been a hard week for us. It's has been very difficult to re-focus them again.

"The support staff and Shahid Afridi are working very hard to stop people thinking about anything else.

"It is pretty sad what has happened and has been tough on everyone, not just me but the entire team, management and back home.

"We must now try and win the series so that it will take away some of the sadness from the team and the country. It's important the boys charge up now and deliver.

"We have plenty of security around. And we are trying to make sure the players don't mix with any strangers around the hotel because the situation is pretty bad.

"We want them to try to sort it out and forget what happened."

CROYDON ATHLETIC FC - owned by Mazhar Majeed, the man at the centre of the spot-fixing scandal - last night announced changes to their managerial team.

A statement on the club's website revealed that manager Tom O'Shea and assistant Neil Smith have left with immedate effect.

Follow Daily Mirror cricket correspondent Dean Wilson on Twitter at CricketMirror

Read more: http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/cricket/2010/09/05/pakistan-skipper-shahid-afridi-finally-says-sorry-115875-22538485/#ixzz0yf10ybi1
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Pakistan match-fixing claims: player 'hid mobile phone in his helmet while waiting to bat'

A Pakistan player concealed a mobile phone inside the helmet he was wearing as he waited to bat during a recent international match, one of his team-mates has alleged.

By Scyld Berry
Published: 11:00PM BST 04 Sep 2010

Man in the middle: alleged breach of the anti-fixing laws reported to the International Cricket Council's anti-corruption unit headed by Sir Ronnie Flanagan Photo: AFP A former Pakistan Test cricketer, who was told of the incident by this player's team-mate, has passed on the allegation to the International Cricket Council's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit. The use of mobile phones by players is strictly forbidden anywhere on the ground during an international match under ICC regulations designed to prevent communication between match-fixers and players.

The former Test cricketer, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals, said he rang the ACSU hotline after being told recently of the claim by the current Pakistan player. The phone was hidden inside the right earpiece of the helmet of the player waiting to bat, he alleged.

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Afridi issues shock apology "My reaction was one of disbelief," the former Test cricketer said on Saturday. "I had reason to suspect things were going on in international cricket, and you never had total confidence in certain games because of the rumours about match fixing and spot fixing. But when I was told about this player with the mobile inside his helmet, I was flabbergasted."

This revelation comes at the end of perhaps the most disturbing week cricket has seen in England, following last Sunday's newspaper allegations of spot fixing by three Pakistan players in the Lord's Test. Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif were all provisionally suspended by the ICC on Thursday evening after allegations of bowling deliberate no-balls in the fourth Test between England and Pakistan. They were questioned by police in London on Friday but were released without charge.

This afternoon the first of two Twenty20 internationals between England and Pakistan is due to take place in Cardiff. But officials from the ICC and the England and Wales Cricket Board were braced for further revelations last night by the News of the World which might put the series in jeopardy.

On Saturday, the Pakistan one-day captain, Shahid Afridi, apologised on behalf of Butt, Asif and Amir. "I think it is very bad news," he said in Cardiff. "I think on behalf of these players – I know they are not in this series – but on behalf of these boys I want to say sorry." He added that he had not spoken to them and had not asked if he could apologise on their behalf.

Meanwhile, the legal adviser of the Pakistan Cricket Board says the three suspended players have acknowledged the businessman at the centre of the fixing claims, Mazhar Majeed, is their agent – but have denied knowledge of any alleged wrongdoing by him. The News of the World accused Majeed last weekend of accepting money in exchange for organising Asif and Amir to bowl no-balls.

PCB legal adviser Tafazzul Rizvi also said on Saturday that the three would have to fight their cases on their own if they appeal against their suspension.

Pakistani Cricket Team Faces Allegations of Match-Fixing

British police have arrested London-based sports agent Mazhar Majeed on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers.

The arrest came after the British newspaper, News of the World, reported that it had filmed its reporters posing as representatives of a gambling cartel paying Majeed to fix a match.

The paper said it gave him $230,000 for arranging to have blatant no-balls bowled at specific times during play between England and Pakistan. Records show that occurred when two bowlers, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif, delivered three deliberate no-balls against England on Thursday and Friday.

Amir, Asif and team captain Salman Butt were among the Pakistani players questioned by police late Saturday. The players refused to answer questions from reporters.

The fourth day of the match went ahead Sunday and England's win gave it the four-test series, 3-1.

Majeed and his brother Azhar are agents who represent a number of Pakistani players. Cricinfo.com reports that Pakistani players were warned ahead of the England tour not to meet the Azhars because of their suspicious activities.

Members of the International Cricket Council's Anti-Corruption Union left their headquarters in Dubai to travel to London to look into the allegations.

Cricket is the most popular sport in South Asia but allegations of match-fixing have surrounded the sport for years.

Pakistan match-fixing claims: fourth member of squad 'investigated' by ICC

A fourth member of the Pakistan squad is being investigated by the International Cricket Council over match-fixing allegations, it is claimed in Sunday's News of the World.

By Nicholas Randall
Published: 9:43PM BST 04 Sep 2010

Eye of the storm: Pakistan Test captain Salman Butt, centre, who faces match-fixing allegations, leaves a police station in London Photo: AP And in a potential further blow to the country’s cricketing reputation, Pakistan Test opener Yasir Hameed is quoted in the paper as claiming that his team-mates have been involved in trying to rig “almost every match”.

However, Hameed on Saturday night denied that he had given an interview to the News of the World.

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Pietersen returns to form According to the paper, Hameed, who played in the Test series against England but is not in Pakistan’s limited-overs squad, said: “They’ve been caught. Only the ones that get caught are branded crooks.

“They were doing it [fixing] in almost every match. God knows what they were up to. Scotland Yard was after them for ages.

“It makes me angry because I’m playing my best and they are trying to lose.”

The paper, which on Sunday prints full details of an investigation into fixing that began in January, last week accused Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Amir and Salman Butt of spot-fixing in last month’s Lord’s Test between England and Pakistan. However, for legal reasons the paper is not naming the fourth player being investigated by the ICC.

The Metropolitan Police, which has questioned Asif, Amir and Butt, said it was not investigating a fourth player.

Separately, it has been reported that Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal has been asked by the ICC to provide information, although not in relation to the recent Lord’s Test.

Asif, Amir and Butt, who were last week suspended by cricket’s world governing body, face 23 ICC charges between them with each player's charges running to six pages, the News of the World claims.

The ICC was on Saturday night unable to confirm or deny the latest report. “We cannot discuss ongoing investigations,” a spokesman said.

According to the paper, investigators have recovered between £10,000 and £15,000 in marked News of the World notes from the hotel room of Butt, the Pakistan captain.

The paper also claims it has further evidence that the meeting with alleged fixer Mazhar Majeed took place before the no-balls at the centre of the fixing allegations — two delivered by Amir in the Lord’s Test and one by Asif — had been bowled. The claim follows suggestions from the Pakistan High Commissioner that the players had been set up.

Monday, August 30, 2010

VIDEOS OF PAKISTAN CRICKET MATCH FIXING

Pakistan team left for Tainton

Updated at: 1758 PST, Monday, August 30, 2010

LONDON: Pakistan team left for Taunton today to play a practice match on Thursday, Geo News reported Monday.Team manager Yawar Saeed said on Sunday that police had confiscated the mobile phones of test captain Salman Butt and fast bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif.The trio and wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal were questioned by police at the team's hotel in London following a report in a Sunday newspaper that players had been bribed to fix incidents during the fourth test against England.Depression was dominant on team players while they were boarding bus while one-day captain Shahid Afridi looked relaxed.Strict security measures were adopted for the team departure. All four tainted players, Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Amir and Kamran Akmal were with the team, while the decision for their selection for the match would be taken later.On the other hand players Yasir Hameed, Tanveer Ahmed and Imran Farhat who were released after the test series have left for home and Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Hafeez would join national team in Taunton.Pakistan will play a practice match at Taunton in west England on Thursday and then face two Twenty20 matches and five one-day games against England starting in Cardiff on Sunday.

ICC to wait for police report before taking action

GEO Sports
Updated at: 1558 PST, Monday, August 30, 2010

MUMBAI: International Cricket Council President Sharad Pawar on Monday said the allegations of 'spot-fixing' and 'match-fixing' against Pakistani cricketers are very serious but the ICC would wait for a report from the police in London before deciding on its course of action.

"Until and unless the process of investigation is over, it is improper for me to react," Pawar told reporters here.

"We have discussed it within the ICC and have decided that let us wait for the police's investigation report. After that we have to take a viewpoint of the two Board, the Pakistan Cricket Board and the England and Wales Cricket Board," he added.

Reacting to the scandal, which implicates captain Salman Butt, pacers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamir, wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal and three other unnamed players, Pawar said he does not make comments on what is essentially a media report.

"There is a conference call that I will be attending in which somebody from the ECB and the PCB would be there," he said.

Asked about the Indian bookies about whom Majeed talks about in the sting operation, Pawar said he was not aware of this.

"I don't know. The BCCI have to take a view on that. The BCCI is one of our member and I am sure if any serious matter is there, the BCCI will take cognizance of this," he said.

"I can't come to a conclusion based on a video," he reasoned.

Angry Pakistanis pelt donkeys in protest at fixing

Monday, 30 Aug, 2010

KARACHI: Protesters in Lahore slapped donkeys with shoes and pelted them with rotten tomatoes on Monday to vent their anger at the latest Pakistani cricket fixing scandal.
Protesters led a procession of donkeys with the names of players accused of taking bribes to fix incidents during the fourth test against England stuck on the foreheads of the animals.
“These players have let us and the country down. We are already facing so many problems because of the floods and terrorism and they took away our one source of happiness,” a protester screamed at a television channel.
Television pictures also showed Pakistanis pelting their team bus with rotten vegetables when it arrived at Lord's in London on Sunday.

If you want to follow news on your mobile, click on http://dawn.com/mobile/ and download Pakistan's first mobile news application. Currently this application is for Nokia phones only

CRICKET Lawmakers demand cricket board quit

Monday, 30 Aug, 2010

ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary sports committee in Pakistan on Monday asked the government to dissolve the country's cricket board in the latest corruption scandal to hit the sport.
Seven Pakistan national team players are facing a police investigation over a match-fixing scandal which surfaced on Sunday in British tabloid the News of the World.
“Our committee has unanimously recommended to dissolve the Pakistan Cricket Board and if it is not done we will collectively resign from this committee,” said Iqbal Mohammad Ali, chief of the committee in parliament's lower house.
Pakistan's national team have remained on tour in England since the scandal broke on Sunday, but are under pressure to cancel the rest of the planned matches.
“We also demand that the government call back the team's manager and coaches immediately and send new management (to England) to handle the crisis,” Ali told reporters outside Parliament House.
The standing committee on sports has repeatedly sought the removal of the cricket board's chief, Ijaz Butt, in recommendations to President Asif Zardari for mismanagement and the poor performance of the national team.
But Zardari, who is a patron of the board by virtue of his office, has ignored the demand.
Ali said the parliamentary committee would convene a special meeting on the issue of match-fixing and would hold its own inquiry into the controversy.
“We have also asked the government to take legal action against the players involved and send them to jail,” he said.If you want to follow news on your mobile, click on http://dawn.com/mobile/ and download Pakistan's first mobile news application. Currently this application is for Nokia phones only

Suspect bailed in Pakistan 'betting scam' scandal

Monday, 30 Aug, 2010
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LONDON: The man at the centre of an alleged betting scam involving the Pakistan cricket team was out on bail Monday as police, governments and authorities probed the scandal rocking the sport.
Mazhar Majeed, 35, was released from custody having been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers, following a newspaper's claim that he took money in return for exact details on no-balls in the Lord's Test match between England and Pakistan.
The allegations have caused uproar in Pakistan and shaken a sport that prides itself on being considered synonymous with fair play.
British police bailed Majeed without charge late Sunday.
“A 35-year-old man has been bailed until a date in the future,” a Scotland Yard spokesman told AFP.
He said the police would not be discussing the date or his bail conditions.
Scotland Yard detectives have also grilled Pakistan captain Salman Butt and two of their star strike bowlers Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif in their investigation.
Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said the claims “have bowed our heads in shame”, as he launched an investigation.

The News of the World newspaper said it paid Majeed 150,000 pounds (230,000 dollars, 185,000 euros) in return for advance details about the timing of three no-balls in the fourth and final Test, which England won on Sunday to take the series 3-1.
The report said Aamer and Asif delivered blatant no-balls at the exact points in the match indicated by the alleged middleman.
Pakistan team manager Yawar Saeed said detectives had on Saturday visited the team's hotel, where Butt and the bowlers had been interviewed about the allegations.
All three gave statements to the police, who took away their mobile phones.
Scotland Yard said they could not discuss persons interviewed as part of an inquiry.
The News of the World published a photograph, video and audio of its encounters with Majeed. He was pictured counting wads of banknotes given to him by a reporter posing as a front man for a betting syndicate.
The Lord's Test was played to a finish Sunday, but unusually, the post-match presentation ceremony did not take place on the outfield but was moved inside the pavilion.
During the ceremony, England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chairman Giles Clarke refused to shake Aamer's hand when presenting the player with the Pakistan Man of the Series award and a cheque for 4,000 pounds.
Despite the allegations, Saeed denied that Pakistani cricket was “institutionally corrupt”.
“I would not like to say that,” he said. “Yes, one has heard and one has read (allegations), but I would not like to go that far.” A defiant Butt insisted he would not resign the Test team captaincy over the claims.
“Anybody can stand out and say anything about you, that doesn't make them true,” he said.
In Pakistan, Gilani said a probe was under way.
“The latest fixing allegations have bowed our heads in shame,” the prime minister told reporters in his home town of Multan.
“I have ordered a thorough inquiry into these allegations so that action could be taken against those who are proven guilty.” President Asif Ali Zardari has expressed his disappointment at the claims and is being informed of developments.
The country's federal sports minister Ijaz Jakhrani promised that any players found guilty would be severely punished.
If wrongdoing was proven, “all the players involved must forget to play for Pakistan in future,” he said.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said they had requested access to the ongoing investigation.
The no-balls at the centre of the claims were bowled on Thursday and Friday.
Pakistan's players now face an awkward time as they must remain in England for a series of one-day matches.
“As far as I am concerned the one-day series is on,” Saeed said.
Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan said cricket in Pakistan must not be allowed to be dragged down by corrupt players.
“Why should Pakistan cricket suffer if some players have indulged in a crime?” he told Britain's ITV television.
“The people who are found guilty should be removed from the team and replaced and should be punished as an example.” Ramiz Raja, the former Pakistan captain and later PCB chief executive, wrote in The Daily Telegraph newspaper Monday: “It is a disaster for cricket...those players must now be dealt with severely.
“For them to do it at Lord's, the Mecca of cricket, brings extreme shame and sadness.” The latest allegations are a further blow to cricket in Pakistan, already at a low ebb with home matches ruled out due to terrorism fears.
The team has been dogged by “fixing” allegations since the 1990s and also embroiled in ball-tampering. – AFPIf you want to follow news on your mobile, click on http://dawn.com/mobile/ and download Pakistan's first mobile news application. Currently this application is for Nokia phones only