Talks intensify in attempt to save remainder of Pakistan tour

CRICKET BETTING SCANDAL: WHILE THE Pakistan team left London and made their way to Taunton for their match against Somerset – …

CRICKET BETTING SCANDAL:WHILE THE Pakistan team left London and made their way to Taunton for their match against Somerset – in preparation for what they hope will be a one-day series against England – the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the International Cricket Council (ICC), were locked in talks to try to reach agreement over the tour's future.

The startling allegations in the News of the Worldthat bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif had been deliberately bowling no-balls to order for the benefit of illegal bookmakers in India and the Far East – so-called "spot-fixing" – cast their shadow over the probity of the entire tour, leaving flat England's astounding recovery at Lord's and their 3-1 win in the series.

Mazhar Majeed, the fixer caught in the newspaper sting, was released on bail yesterday without charge, but police investigations continue, and he will be recalled for questioning. The head of the ICC’s anti-corruption and security unit (ACSU), Ronnie Flanagan, is believed to have arrived from the ICC’s Dubai headquarters and will also travel to Taunton.

It was announced from Pakistan that a three-man team from their federal investigation agency, the country’s highest law enforcement agency, is being sent to England to conduct inquiries and assist Scotland Yard. There are some heavy hitters on the case.

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Yesterday the ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat promised “prompt and decisive action” should the case be proven against the two bowlers, the captain, Salman Butt, who has also been implicated, and indeed anyone else the ACSU, which says it has been monitoring a number of players for a while, has in mind.

However, he warned the right of due process must be respected when addressing such serious allegations.

“Make no mistake, once the process is complete, if any players are found to be guilty the ICC will ensure the appropriate punishment is handed out. We will not tolerate corruption in this great game,” Lorgat said.

None of these investigations is likely to be concluded before the first of two Twenty20 matches, in Cardiff on Sunday. In the interim, the governing bodies of the game have to decide if it would be inappropriate to continue with the tour, or whether the financial penalty of not playing the series (figures of €15 million have been mentioned) is too much to ask from a game increasingly cash-strapped.

In the sombre aftermath of his team’s innings victory on Sunday, England captain Andrew Strauss, in typically considered fashion, was unwilling to commit himself or his team to playing against a team containing players that may be guilty of malpractice, asking only that the dust be allowed to settle first.

He will understand, though, the repercussions to the finances of the game in England: it would be extraordinary if the series did not go ahead because of the refusal of the England team to play.

A more realistic option is sure to have been thrashed out during yesterday’s teleconference. Short of cancelling the remainder of the tour, something it will not do, the Pakistan cricket board does not hold any aces in these negotiations. The manner in which the ECB, largely through chairman Giles Clarke, has sought to help Pakistan through difficult times, particularly in facilitating this summer’s neutral matches against Australia, means it is owed.

Clarke’s disdain when presenting a man-of-the-series cheque to Amir on Sunday was eloquent enough, and now he will demand from the PCB a minimum condition that, even with investigations still pending, Amir, Asif and Butt be suspended from the team for the duration of the series.

It is possible such conditions have been pre-empted to an extent by an earlier meeting between PCB chairman Ijaz Butt, manager Yawar Saeed and one-day captain Shahid Afridi.

Meanwhile, a familiar figure has also spoken out. Javed Miandad, the great Pakistan batsman, thrice coach of the national team and now director-general of the PCB, has said he believes the entire touring party, including management, should be recalled home and replaced with a second string.

“It will be tough for the players to handle this pressure as they will not be in the right frame of mind,” he said. “It’s better they should be replaced with new players, and I think we have enough talented players in reserve. If anyone is found guilty, he should not be spared, and punished strictly.”

They would need a coach, and fortunately Miandad knows the very man. “I am more than willing to accompany the new team,” he said, “and coach them in the Twenty20 matches and one-day internationals.”

Guardian Service