Shameful betrayal, says Pakistan press

Shahid Hashmi

Pakistan's press Monday said a match-fixing scandal involving top cricketers was an act of shameful betrayal for a flooded, terror-hit nation that worships the game.

National captain Salman Butt and two of the country's star bowlers should be sacked, said English-language daily The News, after they were quizzed by British detectives over the alleged gambling scam in a match against England.

"Our cricketers should have been ambassadors for us at this time, instead they have stabbed us in the back," the newspaper said in an editorial.

Conclusive

"The evidence appears conclusive and we are exposed to the world as cheats and frauds once again," it said, adding that the sport faced "a very uncertain future".

"Perhaps the only way forward now is to literally start from scratch. Sack the lot, top to bottom. Anything less and the stink generated by these allegations will stick to us forever."

Pakistan's government has launched an investigation into the claim by a British Sunday tabloid that a middleman took money in return for exact details of no-balls in the Lord's Test match between England and Pakistan.

The News of the World said it paid 150,000 pounds (230,000 dollars) and that bowlers Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif delivered no-balls at the exact points in the fourth Test that the middleman had indicated.

Fir Play

The allegations have caused uproar in Pakistan already in crisis-mode as floods lay waste to large parts of the militant-riddled country and shaken a sport that considers itself synonymous with fair play.

International matches in Pakistan have been on hold due to terrorism fears after the Sri Lankan team was attacked by militants last year. The team has meanwhile been dogged by "fixing" allegations ever since the 1990s and also embroiled in ball-tampering.

There was rare cause for celebration when Pakistan beat England in the third Test, a victory that Butt dedicated to the millions affected by the country's worst-ever floods.

Record margin

But the team went on to lose the fourth Test by a record margin, and the betting scandal has besmirched the Pakistani game once again.

Protesting cricket lovers in the eastern city of Lahore pelted tomatoes at donkeys labelled with the names of the accused players.

Chanting slogans against Butt and other team members, dozens of protesters also pretended to beat the donkeys with shoes during the demonstration.

"It's shameful and unacceptable," cricket fan Manzoor Ahmad told reporters. "We want them back (from England), they should be punished," he said.

Disappointment

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, announcing the government investigation, said the claims "have bowed our heads in shame" while President Asif Ali Zardari has expressed his disappointment.

Pakistan's best-selling newspaper, Daily Jang, said: "The whole nation is ashamed.

"Corruption has marred the country... and this is going on and on unabated. This latest cricket corruption case shows again the need for revising the whole system," it said in an editorial.

Most Popular

But the country's second most popular newspaper, Daily Express, blamed an anti-Pakistan lobby in neighbouring India for the scandal.

"The match-fixing scandal is an Indian conspiracy against the Pakistan team," it said.

"The Indian bookmakers' lobby used Azhar and Mazhar Majeed (the alleged bookmakers at the centre of the scandal) to tarnish Pakistan's image and to derail the careers of (bowlers) Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif," it said.

Punished

Federal sports minister Ijaz Jakhrani promised that any players found guilty would be severely punished, while the Pakistan Cricket Board said it had requested access to the ongoing investigation.

KARACHI, Tuesday AFP

Sport's chiefs vow swift action

Robin Millard

Cricket's world governing body on Monday vowed to take swift action if betting scam allegations against Pakistan were proven as damaging claims threatened the sport's credibility.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) said corruption would not be tolerated and anyone found guilty of "spot-fixing" would be punished as the allegations of bowling pre-arranged no-balls engulfed top Pakistan players.

The world of cricket, a sport that prides itself on "fair play", reacted with shock and dismay to claims huge sums of money had changed hands in alleged fixing schemes at international level, linked to shadowy betting rings.

Middleman

The scandal broke Sunday when Britain's News of the World newspaper claimed it had paid middleman Mazhar Majeed 150,000 pounds (230,000 dollars, 185,000 euros) for advance details of three no-balls in the fourth and final Test match between Pakistan and England, staged at Lord's in London.

Neither the ICC nor the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have suspended the cricketers named in the sting operation.

ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said that they were conducting their own inquiry and would take action against any guilty players.

The ICC had a "zero-tolerance approach to corruption in cricket", he said in a statement Monday.

Intergrity

"The integrity of the game is of paramount importance.

"Prompt and decisive action will be taken against those who seek to harm it.

"We will not tolerate corruption in this great game."

The South African told BBC radio that he wanted anyone found guilty of corruption to be "taken out" of the sport.

"It is also appropriate that the game continues," he added.

"The vast majority of players are not guilty of any such behaviour.

"We shouldn't let a couple of individuals, a few players, bring the entire game to a standstill."

Suspicion

Majeed, a 35-year-old agent for several Pakistan players, was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers in the wake of the newspaper's transcripts and audiovisual footage, but was released on bail without charge on Sunday.

Detectives questioned Pakistan captain Salman Butt and wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal plus star strike bowlers Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif, who bowled the no-balls normally an accidental and unpredictable occurrence in question.

Butt, Asif and 18-year-old Aamer who was named Pakistan's man of the series all had their mobile phones seized.

Twenty20

Pakistan are due to play two Twenty20 matches against England in Cardiff, starting Sunday, with a five-match one-day international series to follow.

However, ex-England captain Michael Vaughan said any fixtures against the tourists would now have "no credibility" in the light of the allegations.

The Pakistan team headed Monday for Taunton in southwest England, where they are due to play a warm-up match on Thursday against county side Somerset amid suggestions Butt, Aamer and Asif could be withdrawn from the tour to ensure the Twenty20 internationals in Cardiff on Sunday and Tuesday go ahead.

An England and Wales Cricket Board statement said their squads for the Twenty20 and one-day matches would be named Tuesday.

LONDON, Tuesday AFP

Pakistan cricket lovers make ass of players

Pakistani cricket lovers Monday protested at the match-fixing scandal by pelting tomatoes at donkeys labelled with the names of top national players embroiled in the allegations.

Chanting slogans against Pakistan cricket captain Salman Butt and other team members, dozens of protesters also pretended to beat the donkeys with shoes during the demonstration in the eastern city of Lahore.

Seven members of the cricket team are facing a police investigation over claims they colluded with a middleman in a betting scam during their England tour, in a sting by British Sunday tabloid the News of the World.

Local media broadcast footage of the protest in which the donkeys had signs hung around their necks with the names of the accused players.

"It's shameful and unacceptable," local cricket lover Manzoor Ahmad told reporters. "We want them back (from England), they should be punished," he said. LAHORE, Pakistan, Tuesday AFP

Scandal poses major questions for ICC

Kuldip Lal

Betting scam allegations swirling around the Pakistan team are raising serious doubts over the ability of cricket's global anti-corruption watchdog to snuff out problems blighting the game. Britain's News of the World newspaper said Sunday it had paid middleman Mazhar Majeed 150,000 pounds (230,000 dollars) for advance details of three no-balls in the final Test match between Pakistan and England at Lord's.

But the alleged ``spot-fixing" by Pakistani players highlights the apparent failure of the ICC's much-vaunted Anti-Corruption and Security Unit.

The ACSU was set up in 2000 after a match-fixing scandal that led to life bans for Test captains Hansie Cronje (South Africa), Mohammad Azharuddin (India) and Salim Malik (Pakistan).

The unit was headed by former London Metropolitan police chief Paul Condon until June, when he retired and was replaced by another senior former British policeman, Ronnie Flanagan. NEW DELHI, AFP

ICC chief pleads for Pakistan 'perspective'

Julian Guyer

International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive Haroon Lorgat urged the world game not to give up on Pakistan after several of their players were embroiled in spot-fixing allegations.

Britain's News of the World newspaper published the results of a 'sting operation' last Sunday which appeared to show how an alleged fixer had been able to ensure the deliberate bowling of no-balls by Pakistan's Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif during the fourth Test against England at Lord's.

"I'm extremely disappointed to say the least," Lorgat told AFP in a telephone interview. "I don't have too many words, it's not something I ever wanted to read about."

Internationals

England and Pakistan are now due to play two Twenty20 internationals in Cardiff, the first this coming Sunday, and five one-day fixtures.

But many observers have questioned how Pakistan's tour, which continues with a warm-up match against Somerset in Taunton on Thursday, can proceed in the current climate.

However, Lorgat said: "My understanding at the moment is that the England and Wales Cricket Board and the Pakistan Cricket Board will continue with the one-day series.

"We've got to keep things in perspective. It would be unfair if a couple of unsavoury individuals tarnished the reputation of the rest of the team and certainly Pakistan as a country."

Details

The News of the World claimed last Sunday it had paid Mazhar Majeed 150,000 pounds (230,000 dollars, 185,000 euros) for advance details of three Pakistan no-balls as part of a sting.

Majeed, a 35-year-old agent for several Pakistan players, was arrested by police on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers following the report but was released on bail late last Sunday.

Scotland Yard questioned Pakistan captain Salman Butt and wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal plus star strike bowlers Aamer and Asif.

England won the Lord's Test by an innings and 225 runs Pakistan's heaviest Test defeat to take the four-match series 3-1 on Sunday.

Stunning win

Another game in the spotlight is January's second Test between Australia and Pakistan in Sydney, in which Australia overcame a 206-run first innings deficit to achieve a stunning win.

Lorgat said the ICC's anti-corruption and security unit (ACSU), now headed by former Northern Ireland police chief Sir Ronnie Flanagan, had been looking into that match.

"You'll remember Lord (Paul) Condon (the ex ACSU boss and the former chief of Scotland Yard) said a few months ago it (the Sydney Test) was still open for investigation.

"But with the limited powers at their disposal, it often takes a period of time for the ACSU to join the dots together that would make a case watertight."

Former England captain Michael Vaughan, writing in the Daily Telegraph on Monday, questioned the ACSU's effectiveness by saying: "Why has it taken a British newspaper sting to bring it out in the open?

'Sting operation'

"What has the ACSU been doing?"

But Lorgat said: "It hasn't got the powers of the police or the ability of a newspaper to mount a 'sting' operation."

He added: "I can assure you, and it is well accepted ICC policy, that we adopt a zero tolerance approach to corruption. If these allegations are proven, action will be taken in a severe manner. It depends on what is proven."

LONDON, Tuesday AFP

Pakistan lawmakers demand cricket board quit

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 Muhammad 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.

ISLAMABAD, Tuesday AFP