7:41pm Saturday 4th September 2010
Pakistan Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi has apologised on behalf of the three players caught up in the no-balls betting allegations.
Afridi also confirmed that the businessman at the heart of the allegations, Mazhar Majeed, and his brother Azhar, were managing the players involved.
Test captain Salman Butt and bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer have maintained their innocence after last weekend’s News of the World claimed a plot to bowl no-balls to order.
But speaking in Cardiff, Afridi said: “On behalf of these boys - I know they’re not in this series - I want to say sorry to all cricket lovers and all the cricketing nations.”
He said Mazhar and Azhar Majeed were representing several Pakistan players, adding: “These guys Azhar and Mazhar, they are their manager(s).
”He (Mazhar) has been travelling with some of the team guys, in Australia and the West Indies.
”I saw him on the tours but didn’t know anything about it.”
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has charged the trio of players under their anti-corruption code and provisionally banned them from playing in any match.
The three men were released without charge yesterday after being questioned under caution by detectives at Kilburn police station in north-west London.
Mr Majeed has also been arrested and released without charge.
Afridi insisted tomorrow’s limited-overs match against England in Cardiff would go ahead, adding: “I’ve told the boys ‘don’t read the newspaper tomorrow - just focus on cricket’.”
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s former cricket captain Imran Khan said the ICC was right to suspend the players.
Khan told the BBC: “Whenever someone comes under a huge allegation like that, a devastating allegation like that, I think it’s only right they should pull out until their name is cleared.”
He also said it would have been impossible for the players to play under the “huge pressure” in front of a crowd including the British Pakistani community who were “extremely humiliated and angry”.
But Khan said while match-fixing should receive an immediate life-ban, bowling no-balls to order was a lesser crime.
He said: “In my opinion one crime is much bigger than the other. One crime where you actually betray your country by throwing a match is a life ban.
”For spot-fixing it could be a punishment where you give the signal that crime does not pay, a huge financial loss to the player and then a limited time ban.”
Asked about Aamer, the teenage fast bowler, Khan said: “An 18-year-old still knows what is right and what is wrong.
”In this case my heart goes out for this young cricketer because purely in cricketing terms he is the most exciting young cricketer the cricketing world has seen for a long time.
”I’m afraid if someone is implicated (in such crimes) you have to give them exemplary punishments to stop this from happening again.”
He said corruption in cricket reflected a wider corruption in Pakistani society and after problems with terrorism and then the floods, the betting scandal was “almost the last straw” for the people.
He added: “I’ve never seen people so demoralised.”
Mr Majeed is accused of accepting £150,000 to arrange for Pakistan players to deliberately bowl no-balls during last week’s fourth Test against England at Lord’s.
The Metropolitan Police said it could not confirm whether the players had acknowledged their relationship with Majeed, while an ICC spokesman said it was a matter for the PCB and there was no comment.
England Twenty20 captain Paul Collingwood called for everyone involved in cricket to help weed out corruption.
He said: “It kind of makes you feel sick in many ways. As cricketers, you play the game to compete against the opposition and to have 100% competition between the two sides.
”As we all know, they are only allegations - but if that was ever taking away a little bit by spot-fixing or match-fixing it doesn’t feel like a real competition any more and that’s the sad thing.”
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.asianimage.co.uk/trade_directory/