Pakistan cricket team face fresh spot-fixing investigation

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has launched an investigation into yesterday's one-day international between England and Pakistan following allegations that a scoring pattern in Pakistan's innings was prearranged.

The ICC said the investigation was based on information received from the Sun newspaper. The ICC chief executive, Haroon Lorgat, said: "A source informed the Sun newspaper that a certain scoring pattern would emerge during certain stages of the match and, broadly speaking, that information appeared to be correct.

]]>

Afridi rubbishes spot-fixing allegations in third ODI

Pakistan's ODI captain Shahid Afridi  has rubbished allegations of spot fixing following his side's 23-run victory in the third one-dayer against England at the Oval. The match had come under the scanner following claims by British tabloid 'The Sun' that bookies knew details of Pakistan's innings even before Friday's third one-dayer began. The ICC in a statement said that investigation is warranted as information about a certain scoring pattern appeared to be "correct".

The allegations, however, have left Afridi shocked. "I thought we played hard cricket and tried our level best to win the match. I just see these new allegations as an attempt to put pressure on the team," Afridi was quoted as saying on Geo TV.

]]>

Spot-fixing not confined to Pakistan cricket: Imran

Pakistan's former captain, Imran Khan fears that the menace of spot-fixing in cricket could be a much more malignant problem then it is being perceived to be after the allegations and suspension of three Pakistani players in England.

Imran said in a television interview that he believed that spot-fixing/betting might be going on uninterrupted in many countries and was not just a problem confined to Pakistan cricket.

]]>