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An official report into alleged match-fixing by Pakistan during the 1999 World Cup has cleared the team of any wrongdoing, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced Saturday.

The judicial report, a copy of which was released on the official website of the PCB, said it found no substance in the accusations that the 1999 World Cup Pakistan matches against Bangladesh and India were fixed.

The report, to be presented at a meeting of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in London next week, was ordered after widespread allegations of cheating in Pakistan's losses in the tournament in England.

Pakistan eventually finished runners-up to Australia.

The allegation of match-fixing in the game with Bangladesh was made in an anonymous letter sent to a Pakistani commission inquiring into the losses to both Bangladesh and India.

The letter accused then prime minister Nawaz Sharif and PCB ex-chief Khalid Mahmood of conniving to engineer Pakistan's defeat to benefit Bangladesh.

"The author (of the letter) suggested that there was an unusual deposit of millions of dollars into the account of Pakistan Cricket Board in Bank Alfalah soon after Pakistan's loss to Bangladesh," the head of the commission, Lahore High Court Judge Karamat Nazir Bhandari, said in his report.

The report revealed that 1.5 million dollars was deposited in the bank on June 7, 1999 -- barely a week after Pakistan lost to Bangladesh by 62 runs at Northampron during the World Cup.

"The Board declared the amount was from television coverage rights for matches played by the Pakistani team," the report said.

The commission also negated claims by former pacer Sarfraz Nawaz and former PCB chief executive Majid Khan that Pakistan fielded poorly during their defeat by Bangladesh and batted poorly against India.

"After intensive review of evidence and other material... the Commission is of the view that it is difficult to hold that this match was fixed," the report said.

"The testimony of Nawaz and Khan is, in fact, an opinion. They did not profess any direct knowledge about the fixation of the match."

The report said incriminating evidence concerning the matches with Bangladesh and India was "completely lacking."

Opener Saeed Anwar, who was found guilty and fined in Pakistan's first match-fixing inquiry two years ago, said he was relieved.

"I think this report has cleared all doubts and allegations about Pakistani cricket," Anwar told AFP.

"It's good for the nation, team and players."

PCB chairman Lieutenant General Tauqir Zia said the report should put an end to Pakistan's match-fixing controversy.

"We are satisfied with the inquiry and after two comprehensive match-fixing inquiries we feel the match-fixing controversy in Pakistan cricket is buried," he said.

Around 20 players -- including former captain Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Moin Khan, Inzamam-ul Haq and Anwar -- appeared before the Bhandari commission in October and denied the charges.

The report also absolved former Pakistan umpire Javed Akhtar of allegations that he took money from bookmakers to make wrong decisions in a Test which South Africa lost to England in 1998.

The match-fixing inquiry in 2000 found former captain Salim Malik and Ataur Rehman guilty and banned them for life. As well as Akram, Younis, Haq, Anwar, Mushtaq Ahmed and Akram Raza were also found guilty and fined.

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Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
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