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ODIs System Needs To Be Reviewed - Afridi

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Pakistan one-day captain Shahid Afridi has called for the introduction of a system to review umpire decisions in one-day matches, saying that one wrong decision can decide the outcome.

The International Cricket Council introduced the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) on a trial basis in Tests in June 2008, allowing teams to challenge on-field umpire decisions and refer them to a television umpire.

Teams have two opportunities per innings to contest an on-field decision, but the most contentious issue with the system is that hosts have to pay for the technology costs – unacceptable to several countries.

But Afridi said UDRS should be implemented in one-day matches to eliminate umpiring errors.

“I think the referral system is a must in one-day matches,” Afridi told Geo television after his team’s 121-run loss against England in the fifth and final one-day at Southampton, England on Wednesday.

During that match, opener Kamran Akmal’s controversial leg-before decision from English umpire Ian Gould derailed Pakistan’s run-chase of 257.

The television replays showed Kamran edged the ball onto his pads.

England took the series 3-2.

“One decision can change the whole match, some leg-befores... and I am not talking of this match only, also in previous matches, and if such things (wrong umpiring decisions) happen then it changes the whole match,” said Afridi.

England captain Andrew Strauss was given not out by West Indian umpire Billy Doctrove, despite a strong appeal by bowler Umar Gul and wicketkeeper Kamran. Strauss, then 38, went on to make 126 as England, replying to Pakistan’s 294 for eight, finished on 295 for six.

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posted @ 1:28 PM, ,

Cricket: Cooley heads to Brisbane

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Australia's pace bowling coach Troy Cooley will become the new head coach of Cricket Australia's Centre of Excellence in Brisbane.

CA announced Cooley's appointment yesterday, with outgoing head coach Greg Chappell moving to the newly-created role of CA National Talent manager, based in Melbourne.

The 44-year-old will still support the Australian team's Ashes campaign against England and the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup defence as he transitions into his new role.

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posted @ 11:24 AM, ,

Ijaz Butt Will Not Apologize

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Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt will not apologise or pay any compensation for alleging that England players were engaged in match-fixing, an official source close to the chief said. "The ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) not only wants an unconditional apology from Butt but also financial compensation for (damaging the reputation of) its players".

"The letter states that the PCB should also compensate the ECB for the damages it suffered during the ODI series after Butt's remarks." The source added that the PCB Chairman was adamant he would not apologise for his remarks - in which he said there had been "loud and clear talk in bookies' circles that some English players were paid enormous amounts of money to lose (the third one-dayer) - and told his legal advisors the PCB would not pay any compensation to the ECB.

Butt made the allegations after the International Cricket Council said it was investigating the third ODI for suspicious "scoring patterns" by the Pakistan team. PCB media manager Nadeem Sarwar told a leading newspaper that there was no question of Butt apologising because he had not accused the English players of match fixing. "Everyone should listen carefully to what the chairman said in his interview he never directly accused anyone of match fixing," Sarwar said. The ECB could not be reached for comment.

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posted @ 11:11 AM, ,

Can India Pull Off The Commonwealth Games?

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The folks at Commonwealth Games Committee were targeting sponsorship of Rs. 1,200 crore. Till now they have sold sponsorships worth Rs. 342 crore. The huge negative publicity campaign seems to have done some damage. Many large corporate houses have not signed on as yet. As we go to press it appears that most of the sponsors were large public sector undertakings like NTPC, Air India and Central Bank of India. On the broadcast right front, the situation is only a little better. The official target was to get Rs. 211 crore. What they have is Rs. 156 crore.

Will They Come and Watch?
One key area of audience participation will be people who buy tickets to see the events live. On this front too the results have been fairly downbeat. A total 1.7 million tickets are on sale; till now about 200,000 have been sold. Only about one-tenth of the revenue target from ticket sales has been achieved. The good news is that our eternal hope — hockey — continues to be the big crowd puller and more than 60,000 tickets have been sold. Games authorities believe that once foreign tourists start arriving the sales should increase.

Drop Outs
A huge disappointment for the Games has been the large list of drop-outs. Topping the list is the fastest man on the planet: Usain Bolt of Jamaica. If he had turned up the athletics section would have become the most watched event. Olympic track cyclist Victoria Pendleton is another big name gone. She was a gold medal winner at the Beijing Olympics. The 800 metres record holder David Rudisha and world heptathlon champion Jessica Enis too have decided to give the Games a miss. Samantha Stosur, Australian tennis player, who had a great French Open and turned in a very good performance at the US Open, has also decided to not come to India. The Australians continue to be unkind to India because the winner of four gold medals, Stephanie Rice, has opted out. Hers is an injury-related case but even so the commonwealth Games lose their sheen a bit.

Tourist Arrivals
Hotel occupancy right now in the Delhi market is around 40 to 70 percent. It is expected to be between 50 and 80 percent during the Games. Hoteliers who spoke to Forbes India were anticipating occupancies running close to 100 percent. The tariff too is expected to be 5 to 10 percent more than the present rates during the Games. No patch on the doubling of rate that was expected. Of course, hotels are not built just for the Games.

But the Games can be an important fillip for the hospitality industry. “Other than the tame response in hotel bookings, what has hurt most is that the whole business community is moving away from the city. For the whole period of the Games, there are no conferences, seminars and no tourists are coming in. And weddings are also not happening,” says Manav Thadani, MD, HVS India, a hospitality consulting firm. According to HVS, in the last two years, around 6,000 new rooms have been added in Delhi and NCR. This includes around 4,500 rooms in the last one year. But this is nothing compared to the original projections of a few years ago that was more than 20,000 rooms. Now everyone is talking about too much competition and too low occupancies.

Sports Infrastructure
The good news is that almost all venues, at least the interiors, are ready now. Of course, work outside many games venues, such as clearing rubble, beautification, landscaping etc. is still pending. The Games Organising Committee is spending Rs. 20 crore on covering the dilapidated buildings, bridges, subways, underpasses, slum clusters, etc. The work has been contracted to four private firms that have been assigned different areas to work on. These wall wraps will also create a buzz for the Games and have been put up in Connaught Place (CP) to hide the incomplete subways.

The bad news is that many major works going on around the city are unlikely to be completed. For instance, a flyover over the Delhi-Noida-Delhi expressway on the Noida link road that leads to the Games Village from the east is unlikely to be completed. Only three subways at CP will be completed. The rest were half dug but are now being filled up again. At CP, merchant establishments have been working without credit card machines because of disruptions due to digging. The entire parking lot at Shanker Market and the shops’ interiors will not be completed in time, Palika Bazaar will not be getting the elevators installed as was the initial plan.

Delhiites Upset
Unlike during the Asian Games of 1982, the people of Delhi appear to see it as a disruption of their normal life. The Asian Games mascot Appu was an immensely popular figure across the country but Shera has hardly created a buzz. Appu was ubiquitous with tremendous merchandising support. Shera is hardly visible.

During the games, Delhiites are likely to face quite a bit of difficulty around the Games venues and approaches. In several places, one lane, sometimes half of an entire carriageway, has been exclusively designated for CWG traffic.

Mosquito threat to the Games Village is very real because it is on the Yamuna’s bank and is surrounded by fields and marshes that are currently flooded. Japanese encephalitis, viral fever and dengue are widespread in the city.

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posted @ 8:56 AM, ,

Scary and chaotic, but India's Commonwealth Games will go ahead

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By Jonathan McEvoy in Delhi

Just one jammed, horn-honking road away from the Commonwealth Games stadium, the smoke of burning bodies blew high into the air above the cemetery fence.

In the eyes of the world it could have symbolised how India is piling up a funeral pyre for the old, wilting sporting event it is meant to be staging nine days from now.

The evidence to support that proposition — not least in yesterday's pictures showing the grime-infested athletes' village — is vast.
Commonwealth fever: A worker sprays chemicals in rain water outside the Athlete's Village to prevent the spread of dengue fever

Commonwealth fever: A worker sprays chemicals in rain water outside the Athlete's Village to prevent the spread of dengue fever

No nation aspiring to a serious place on the world stage can have gone about its business with less organised guile.

But my first-hand, if snapshot, experience after arriving here yesterday morning is that the Games will probably go ahead, in one diminished form or another.

As JK Galbraith, U.S. ambassador to India observed of this diverse nation in the 1960s, it amounts to 'functioning anarchy'.

One reason for my mild optimism is the sheer manpower at India’s disposal.

Only yesterday, with the carrot of perhaps 200 rupees, or nearly £3, they managed to enlist an extra 1,000 workers to undertake last-minute remedial work on the village alone.

There were others laying tarmac, grouting, sanding and sweeping throughout the other sites.

It helps when you have one billion people, most of them desperate for a folding note, to call upon.

There is also, I detected, a desire among those here to prove the world wrong.

On my arrival in Delhi — at an airport recently built to a high standard, thanks to private rather than government money — the staff were unfailingly polite.

It was a trait discernible in everyone I met.

There were special queue-avoiding routes for those of us with Commonwealth Games accreditation.

The special counter must have had 20 staff. I was the only arrival. Had they not heard that next to nobody was coming?

On to the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, the proposed centrepiece of the Games.

The blue seats were all in, bar one or two. There was the odd rough edge, but it was an impressive bowl worthy of any sporting occasion.

‘Some of the work started in 2007 rather than 2003,’ said one German employee brought in for his expertise on such events.

‘Everything is behind schedule. This is an Indian speciality — to get it finished at the last minute.

'When they say it is ready, they mean something different from what we in the West think it means.

‘We will deliver, though. We can be quite sure of that.’

Can we be that certain?

It was only on Tuesday that the footbridge connecting the car park to the stadium collapsed, injuring 20 workers.

Part of the weight-lifting ceiling fell down the next day. And as for the athlete’s village, more of that vile cesspit to come.

The broken bridge is visible from the window of the German’s office. Only the arch remains.

What if the stadium falls down mid-competition?

‘I am sure it will be OK,’ he said.

‘The outer walls of this stadium were built for the Asian Games in 1982. They are still standing.’

An army of soldiers marched through the stadium area. They carried guns that went from their waists to their shoulders. Some ambled and lolled on the fence.

The Grenadier Guards outside Buckingham Palace they weren’t, but they were there in profusion and security checks were just about stringent enough.

A few miles away, the TV cameras were lined up at the entrance to the village. Yellow barriers with ‘Delhi Police’ on them stopped each car and pedestrian for the right accreditation.

I asked if a bribe could get me in. I was told that a week or so ago it would have done.

But now, in light of the furore over the conditions inside and the fact that the first athletes were arriving, it was impossible.

If you can’t corrupt an official in India, where can you?

Two street dogs swaggered in. Perhaps they were looking for a bed for the night, based on the paw marks, captured in pictures, on the linen meant for athletes to sleep on.

Those images, revealed yesterday, are vile.

But it is hardly surprising when in the streets outside there needs to be a sign next to a grapefruit stall imploring: ‘Do not urinate here.’

Someone I spoke to said workers had used a lavatory on the site for weeks despite the water not running.

‘What the West thinks as of as acceptable is not the same as what India thinks,’ said another Games’ employee.

‘They are sufficient unto themselves.’

The roads — the worst for crazy, lane jig-jagging I have witnessed, with the possible exception of Shanghai — were teeming.

A designated Games lane was intermittently closed yesterday. The backlogs were severe, although not worse in density than High Holborn at rush hour.

The inconvenience to the locals is one reason why The Times of India, who have been laudably independent in their coverage, carried a poll declaring that 97 per cent of the country believe the Games have tarnished India’s image.

They also can’t be pleased about the expense. Costs have gone up 525 per cent since the city won the bid. That is the official estimate.

Unofficially, it is up 1,575 per cent, or 15 times the original estimate. Apparently that equates to £2billion-plus.

What is certain is that the unusually severe monsoon has caused the Yamuna river to disgorge its worst flooding for 32 years. Its surplus water is all around the village.

In those still pools, mosquito-borne dengue fever thrives.

Three have died of it in Delhi this year, according to official figures. It has briefly indisposed several more, including the man from the Sydney Morning Herald, whose hand I shook warily.

Personally, I’m happy to apply the Jungle Formula, cover up and hope for the best. Not that the authorities were taking chances. They were fogging — flushing away the mosquitos with a giant jet-wash style hose — as I left for my hotel.

By then, the lights were going on at the Nehru stadium, named after India’s first Prime Minister, who ushered in post-British India with the beguiling phrase: ‘At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom.’

The Games look like they will go on, in their own, scatty way. Pride depends on it.

But with athletes withdrawn, deadlines fumbled and security and safety concerns all too real, it will be the most chaotic and scary edition in Commonwealth history.

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posted @ 8:34 AM, ,

Is Pakistan cricket down in the dumps

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By KHALID HUSSAIN

Just before he took the Pakistan team to Sri Lanka and then England this summer, I had a detailed chat with Shahid Afridi in Karachi.

It was June and though the 2011 World Cup was still almost nine months away, Pakistan's cricket captain was more interested in talking about the quadrennial spectacle than anything else. He almost sounded obsessed with the idea of leading Pakistan to the World Cup crown almost 20 years after the great Imran Khan achieved that feat in Australia.

A few months and a series of controversies later, Afridi is still optimistic of Pakistan's World Cup chances though the captain doesn't sound as convincing as he did in June.

It's hardly surprising.

Pakistan cricket is going through its worst phase at the moment. Many of the country's leading cricketers are suspected of having links with match-fixers. Corruption allegations have tainted Pakistan's cricket team to the extent that several former cricketing great Ian Botham is calling for a ban. Such is the intensity of the charges against Pakistan that there are even fears that the 1992 world champions might not even take part in next year's World Cup.

Three of Pakistan's players — Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer — remain suspended as investigations continue into allegations of corruption against them. Asif and Aamer have been accused of bowling deliberate no balls on the orders of match fixers. The International Cricket Council (ICC) is also investigating claims that Pakistani players were involved in 'spot fixing' during their third One-day International against England at The Oval earlier this month.

As if all of it wasn't enough, Pakistan's cricket chiefs have engaged themselves in a bitter row with England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) following Ijaz Butt's insane comments about the England team throwing The Oval one-dayer for huge sums of money. ECB has demanded a public apology from the PCB chief but sources in the Board say that Butt is in no mood to say sorry.

There aren't many positive reports emitting from the Pakistan team either. The squad is back home after completing its acrimonious tour of England where Pakistan lost the four-Test series 1-3, Twenty20 International series 0-2 and finally the One-day International series 2-3.

During the best part of the tour, even if you put aside the so-called 'spot fixing scandal', there weren't many happy stories as far as the team is concerned.

Afridi, who came out of Test exile to lead Pakistan in their first Test against Australia at Lord's last July, made a shocking announcement that he was quitting Test cricket again after playing just one match.

Later, when Pakistan were hit by a bombshell that came in the form of an expose by News Of The World, sources close to Afridi claimed that the all-rounder was forced to retire because he wasn't happy with the fact that some of his players were allowed by the team management to openly mix with several 'suspicious' characters. One of those characters was Mazhar Majeed, the British business at the center of the 'spot fixing' scandal.

Pakistan went on to win their next Test against Australia - their first Test win against the Aussies in 15 years. The triumph was hailed as a turning point for Pakistan cricket as many thought that under Salman Butt, the team was destined for more glory.

Sadly, things began to fall apart after that series-leveling triumph at Headingley.

Pakistan were crushed by England in the first two Tests at Trent Bridge and Edgbaston where the visitors batted like novices and gave more proof that they were easily the worst fielding side among all Test nations.

Pakistan dropped the controversial Kamran Akmal for his awful catching and poor batting after Trent Bridge and instead fielded debutant Zulqarnain Haider as their wicket-keeper at Edgbaston. The lanky stumper made a fighting 88 in the second innings but was sent back home ahead of the third Test at The Oval because of a finger injury.

Well-placed sources in the team had revealed that the injury wasn't a serious one and that Zulqarnain could have played at The Oval. But there was no such luck for the youngster and Kamran Akmal was brought back to keep the wickets for Pakistan.

Conflicting reports continuously came out of the Pakistan camp during the tour regarding relations between the players and their coaches.

While sources claimed that the team officials and some of the senior players were not even on talking terms, Afridi - Pakistan's one-day captain - kept insisting that he was at the helm of a completely 'united' team.

The players and team coaches, according to the sources, also developed bitter differences on the issue of fielding practice during the tour.

While Ijaz Ahmed, the man who was entrusted with the responsibility of bringing about an improvement in the team's fielding standards insisted on marathon training sessions, many of the players believed such sessions did more harm than good.

"Sometime we are so stiff after those long sessions just before a game that the idea of fielding in the match used to make us really uneasy," one of the team members, who requested anonymity, told The News on Sunday.

Among the senior players there was this suspicion that Ijaz and company were against their presence in the team. The players feared that the extensive fielding sessions were aimed at ruining their fitness so that they could be kicked out of the team.

"Some of us (senior players) were convinced that the coaches want to get rid of us so that they can have their favorites in the team. It wasn't a good feeling at all," said another Pakistan player.

It wasn't just the players and officials who were not really getting along during the tour. The players, too, had their differences.

"The players began to suspect each other after the (spot fixing) scandal," said a source. "If there was any unity in the team, it was pretty much gone after those three players were named in the scandal," he added.

In nutshell, Pakistan cricket is down in the dumps at the moment.

So, is there any light at the end of the tunnel? Sadly, with a man like Ijaz Butt at the helm of our cricket affairs, one can't be optimistic about anything.

What Pakistan cricket needs is a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief with a vision, somebody who can build bridges with the rest of cricketing world. Someone who can form a competent team, which can first carry out damage control and then rebuild Pakistan's credibility as a respected Test-playing country. It won't be easy but it's not impossible.

For the moment, as long as Ijaz Butt is in charge, such a turn-around is quite unlikely. You can't expect a man, with a sizeable contribution to the current mess, to suddenly change overnight and carry out this mammoth task. He has to go otherwise Pakistan cricket will become a lost cause.

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posted @ 11:56 AM, ,

Pakistan cricket: great rivalries and bust ups

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The evolution of Pakistan cricket teams has triggered a rather queer phenomenon: the notorious squabbling within the Pakistan team has turned itself into the kind of personal rivalries between players that have actually helped them perform in the most stunning manner (both in victory and defeat). It is as if to perform at their best, Pakistani cricketers have had to challenge each another first.

Each time Pakistan plays, the question is, will they swallow the opposition, or combust into flames?

Raja vs. Raja

Late Wasim Raja – elder brother of Rameez Raja – was perhaps the most enigmatic cricketer of the 1970s and early 1980s.

In his book, ‘An All-Round View,’ Imran Khan describes Raja to be one of most gifted stroke makers he had ever seen, but someone who never thought he needed any practice – a carefree trait that did not go down well with Raja’s captains. They all described him as a loner who could not bond well with the team.

Raja bloomed under Muhstaq Muhammad’s captaincy, but not without incidence. Dropped from the team (for being irresponsible) during the 1976 home series against New Zealand, Raja was picked (on skipper Mushtaq’s insistence) in the 18-member squad that toured Australia and West indies during the 1976-77 season.

Pakistan drew the series 1-1 against the Aussies, but Raja did not figure in the final IX, despite scoring a hard-hitting century in a side game. Expecting to be picked for the third test, he was ignored.

In his autobiography, ‘Inside Out,’ Mushtaq writes that he was tempted to select Raja, but since Pakistan were 1-0 down in the series, he wanted a more responsible batsman in the side. Then Mushtaq goes on to describe how badly Raja took the decision.

Raja, in a ‘drunken rage,’ smashed a mirror to bits in his hotel room, and then stumbled across the hotel lobby, accusing the team manager, Shujauddin, of favouritism.

Raja was finally selected (in place of an injured Zaheer) on the West Indian leg of the tour. In a closely fought contest, Pakistan went down 2-1, and ironically, Raja topped the batting averages, scoring more than 500 runs in five tests, with a century and five fifties.

Famous West Indian commentator, Tony Cozier, described Raja’s batting on that tour as ‘breathtaking.’

A future Pakistani Test player, who was then a young member of the touring squad, remembered Raja’s batting (and antics) fondly: ‘He was a law unto himself,’ he told this writer in 1997. ‘Five down for 130 odd, and Raja would come in and hit Joel Garner for a straight six, first ball.’

He also affectionately remembered how Raja, while waiting for his turn to bat (during the second Test on the same tour), slipped out, bumped into a few West Indian fans of his outside the stadium, gleefully shared with them a smoking pipe brimming with ganja, came back, padded up and went on to score a most prodigious fifty!

Javed Miandad in his book, A Cutting Edge, described Raja as one of the hardest-hitting batsmen. But he also thought Raja was his own greatest enemy.

After having a great tour of India in 1979, (where during one side game in Amritsar, he mischievously threaten to grab the groin of an approaching fan), Raja once again became a frustrating in-out case, finally bidding farewell to cricket in 1985.

Sadly, he died at the age of 55 in 2004.

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Mushtaq Muhammad vs. Asif Iqbal

Whenever there is talk of great Pakistani cricket captains, three names spontaneously spring to mind: Imran Khan, A H. Kardar and Mushtaq Muhammad.

It was under Mushtaq that a bunch of individualistic talents became a world-beating side. With Mushtaq at the helm, Pakistan managed to beat New Zealand and India, as well the 1970s’ mighty Australian and West Indian sides.

Highly competitive, Mushtaq is also remembered as the captain who had a habit of taking struggling players to hotel bars and discussing their form over a glass of beer. It was also under him that Pakistanis attempted to match the Aussies’ knack for ‘effective sledging,’ and he turned Miandad and Sarfraz Nawaz into sledging machines!

It was Mushtaq’s good luck that his long-time vice-captain, Asif Iqbal, was also one of his best friends. But as Mushtaq explains in his autobiography, after captaining Pakistan for four years (1976-79), he was suddenly replaced due to ‘Asif’s intrigues. He blamed Asif (and Majid Khan) for ‘stabbing him in the back,’ by telling the selectors that he was ‘over the hill.’

Mushtaq was all set to continue as skipper for the 1979 series against India, when he was asked to retire by the selectors. Asif became the new captain, leading Pakistan across the turbulent series that Pakistan lost, 2-0.

Humiliated, Asif decided to retire after the disastrous tour, and Mushtaq was asked to return as captain. He declined, and instead suggested the board make Miandad the new captain, and which it did (in 1980).

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Imran Khan vs. Sarfraz Nawaz

Along with the Wasim-Waqar bowling pair, the Imran-Sarfraz bowling duo is considered to be the best Pakistan cricket has produced.

But unlike Wasim and Waqar, Sarfraz and Imran were also considered to be bosom buddies, and on tours the dashing, ‘playboy’ Imran, and the hard-drinking and boisterous Sarfraz were a regular feature at assorted night clubs. It is said that it was Sarfraz who taught the art of reverse swing to Imran.

The long friendship lasted till 1994 – until Imran Khan began planning to join politics, and refused to welcome the then Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto, when she made a trip to his charity hospital. A long-time supporter of Bhutto’s Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Sarfraz had joined the party in 1988.

But what really broke the camel’s back for Nawaz was when Imran (after going through his post-retirement born-again-Muslim routine), started using populist Islamic symbolism and rhetoric. Nawaz went public with his outrage, calling Imran ‘a hypocrite’, saying that a former ‘playboy’ had no right to preach morals. Imran retaliated by calling Nawaz a ‘mad man’ and a ghoonda (scoundrel).

The severe brick baiting between the two has continued unabated.

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Javed Miandad vs. Imran Khan

Miandad and Imran are perhaps the two most popular set of cricketers produced by Pakistan. Both served the team together for almost 20 years.

According to a 1996 interview of former Pakistan opener, Mudassar Nazar, Imran and Javed had a ‘classic love-hate relationship’ – a fact that becomes obvious when their assessment of this relationship in their respective autobiographies starts reading like a soggy soap opera! Within a space of a single chapter, Imran in his book, ‘Imran,’ both praises and criticizes Miandad in equal measure. Miandad does the same in his own book, and string after string of sentences showering liberal praise as well as attacks on one another.

Both became friends while playing for Somerset in England in the mid-1970s, where they also shared a flat. However, the friendship began to fall apart after a 23-year-old Miandad replaced Asif Iqbal as captain in 1980.

In 1981, ten players revolted against Miandad’s captaincy and refused to play under him. Miandad blamed Majid Khan and Zaheer Abbas as being the ‘ring leaders’ of the revolt. In his book Miandad suggests that the revolt only became successful when the ‘ring leaders’ convinced Imran to join them. Miandad felt ‘like being stabbed in the back.’

Interestingly, after Miandad stepped down, he told the board that he will not play under either Majid or Zaheer, but will be more than glad to play under Imran. In 1986, Miandad became Imran’s vice-captain.

Some of the most successful ODI and Test cricket by Pakistan was played through the Imran-Miandad ‘think tank,’ an example of which was seen during the fourth Test against England (in England) in 1987.

In an attempt to halt England’s run chase, one side of the wicket was marshaled by captain Imran, while the other side was being maneuvered by his vice-captain, Miandad. The game was saved and Pakistan won the series.

The re-established friendship between the two broke down again when (after Imran’s retirement in 1992), Miandad (as captain) accused Imran of trying to divide the team and get the board to make Wasim Akram captain.

Imran denied the accusation, but in 1993, Miandad stepped down and Akram did become the new skipper.

Miandad retired from cricket in 1996, and has since rekindled his friendship with Imran.

____________________________

Imran Khan vs. Qasim Umar/Yunus Ahmed

Qasim Umar was a dashing young talent who emerged on the scene in the early 1980s. However, by 1988 he was out, banned by the cricket board.

After a 1986 Australian tour, Umar stunned the media by declaring that Imran and his team were ‘junkies.’ He claimed that most of the players (including Imran) smoked cannabis (hashish) and were involved in prostitution. Umar’s timing couldn’t have been worse. The Pakistan team was on a high (pun not intended), and popularly being led by Imran and his vice-captain, Miandad.

In 1987, after an Indian tour, Yunus Ahmed – who’d been brought out of retirement (by Imran) to play against India – repeated Umar’s accusations, claiming that Imran and his team were ‘drunkards’ and smoked dope.

Ahmed, was banned as well.

Qasim Umar today is a member of the Tableeghi Jamat (Islamic evangelists).

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Wasim vs. Waqar

Easily one of the most destructive fast bowling pairs to grace international cricket, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younus were never buddies. According to their own admission, each tried to outdo the other, but of course, it was the team that benefited from this intense rivalry.

Ironically, it was Akram and Waqar who (supposedly on Imran’s instigation), rebelled against Miandad’s captaincy in 1993. Consequently, Akram was named captain, and Waqar became vice-captain.

But the arrangement did not last long. Akram, after being arrested along with a few other Pakistani players, for smoking dope on a Caribbean beach, was disgraced, and Waqar eventually led a players’ revolt against him in 1994.

Akram returned as skipper twice (1996; 1998-99), but his relationship with Waqar remained strained, until both finally reconciled during Waqar’s captaincy (2001-2002).

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Inzamam-ul Haq vs. Shoaib Akhtar

Inzamam-ul Haq is ranked up there with greats like Miandad and rightly so. But in spite of captaining Pakistan for three years (2004-2007), he was constantly criticised for being ‘lethargic’ and too defensive.

Some of his critics also point at his born-again religiosity in which he tried to unite the team on the basis of a particular brand of evangelical Islam (tableeghi).

He regularly allowed certain celebrity-turned-preachers into the dressing room. As he went about changing the team’s culture – blaming alcohol, partying and drugs as the main culprits of the team’s problems – he failed on two major counts.

First of all he alienated some players who did not agree with his brand of religion (mainly Abdul Razzaq, Yunus Khan and Shoaib Akhtar); secondly, the ‘Islamisation’ of the team did absolutely nothing to curb the kind of reckless greed that has seen many players fall pray to shady bookies.

Maverick tear-away fast bowler, Shoaib Akhtar, became the most prominent victim of Inzi’s religious dabbling. A throwback of the ‘wild’ Pakistani cricketers of yore, Shoaib constantly squabbled with Inzamam, calling him a hypocrite for dragging religion into sport.

According to cricket journalist, Osman Sammiuddin, Shoaib sometimes openly rebelled against and mocked Inzi’s ‘Raiwind regime.’ Shoaib refused to give up his love of late night partying, saying that it was his personal matter. Then, during a series against England (in 2005), he kept calling Inzamam in the middle of the night, sarcastically asking him to get ready for prayers!

Shoaib remained an outsider in Inzimam’s team, and the tableeghis who became a regular fixture in the dressing room, avoided him like the plague.

‘They found him to be mocking and rude, and stayed clear of him,’ Osman said.

Shoaib lamented that had he been playing under Imran, he would have achieved a lot more as a bowler. Instead, alienated by Inzi and the team’s overt religious fervor, Shoaib stumbled from one controversy to another.

Nadeem F. Paracha is a cultural critic and senior columnist for Dawn Newspaper and Dawn.com.

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posted @ 12:03 PM, ,

India's $10m 'bribe' to win Commonwealth Games

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Australia received a $125,000 kickback after India won the Commonwealth Games in a $10 million palm-greasing exercise that has spectacularly backfired.

Delhi sealed the right to host the Games when their delegates emerged at the final presentation in Jamaica and offered all 72 nations $US100,000 (then about $140,000) each for athlete training schemes if they were the successful bidders.

The money, subsequently paid to all nations, was not significant to Australia because it had already decided to vote for India and the payment was not an exceptionally large one.

But for small nations who have minimal interest in the Games, it clinched their vote and India went on to beat Canadian city Hamilton 46-22 in the final poll. Hamilton had offered the nations about $70,000 each.

Hamilton's bid organisers, and many of the nations who voted for them, fired off angry protests about India buying votes and the bad blood generated between several feuding nations still exists.

The Commonwealth Games Association has decided to ban 11th-hour inducements as a consequence of the outrage over India's tactics.

The revelation comes as photos and video footage taken secretly inside the Games compound show just how squalid the athletes' village is.

Undercover reporters from The Australian and The Daily Telegraph reported seeing filthy toilets, widespread flooding and children defecating in the street.

The images raise more questions about India's ability to bring the Games facilities up to scratch before the opening ceremony on October 3.

The India Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called an emergency meeting of his ministers last night to deal with the crisis and Commonwealth Games chief Mike Fennell was flying into Delhi early today to meet Singh and Games officials.

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit met national team leaders from 25 countries to discuss their concerns about the athletes' village

Australian team general manager Perry Crosswhite said the workforce of cleaners and maintenance staff had increased "ten-fold" in the village yesterday.

"They have elevated their response and brought in people who have the power to make it happen," Crosswhite said.

As well as an army of cleaners, bomb squad officers and dogs have been deployed outside the village as security forces took control, weeks after the original scheduled lockdown deadline.

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posted @ 8:46 PM, ,

Conspiracy to defraud Pakistani cricket

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International Cricket Council (ICC) has been accused of defrauding Pakistan cricket by Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) chairperson Ijaz Butt. The PCB believes that the “august cricket bodies”, and media from fellow cricketing nations have not been fair to Pakistan and its cricket in recent times. Butt’s prepared statement was read out on ESPNcricinfo and repeatedly telecasted on Pakistani television channels. These thinly-veiled attacks on the ICC, some cricket boards and the media have occurred since the Council launched their investigation against the English players after their suspicious of losing to the Pakistani visiting team.

Meanwhile, the three Pakistani cricketers including test skipper, Salman Butt, and fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir have appealed against their suspension ordered by the ICC, based on the controversial involvement with match-fixers in the recent Test series against England.

Butt say’s, “This is not a conspiracy to defraud bookies but a conspiracy to defraud Pakistan and Pakistan cricket," also adding. "We have taken it in hand to start our own investigations. We will shortly reveal the names of the people, the parties and the bodies involved in this sinister conspiracy and we also reserve the right to sue them for damages. There is loud and clear talk in bookie circles that some English players have taken enormous amounts of money to lose the match [the third ODI]. No wonder there was such a collapse".

When a reporter asked, whether the PCB had any proof to support their allegations on ICC or England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) or any other English player, PCB chairman replied with a question: “ Did you ask the other people who made allegations against our players whether they had any proof or not? What did they say? We have thought about this properly and we have positive proofs here before us just they say they have also”.

On the contrary, ICC spokesperson claims that they tried to contact Butt all through Friday but his phone was not responding. Talking to ESPNcricinfo, ICC officials also stated that once the press release was finished regarding the official investigation on England’s performance at the Oval one-dayer, they came to know about Butt’s meeting with ICC chief executive Haroon Lograt in Dubai.

However, there are no indications regarding the matter that the ICC officials were trying to contact PCB chairman, and to top it all, even the team manager and One-day international (ODI) skipper got to know about the investigation of England’s team through the media and reporters. Keeping in mind, that PCB chairman Butt was in New Delhi, India, trying to meet-up with the President of ICC Sharad Pawar. On the other hand, the ECB held a meeting as soon as the outburst happened, as it gives life to the new match-fixing scandals and has urged ICC for clarification, of the information the Council is holding against them.

Meanwhile, PCB chairperson might well have put the final nail in the coffin towards ICC. PCB during the current chairperson Butt’s tenure has consistently clashed with the ICC. From the 2009 attacks on the Sri Lankan touring team to Pakistan, to the threats from PCB to take legal action on ICC as Pakistan was removed as a venue from the 2011 World Cup due to security concerns on other international boards and the current match-fixing scandals, which has resulted in such harsh exchange of statements between the two.

The PCB ensures that the cricket board itself would lead an investigation to get answers regarding the ongoing spot-fixing scandals. Meanwhile, the ICC is doing its utmost to bring an end to these controversies as it is ruining the spirit of the game. These allegations and scandals can easily help cricket lovers around the world to lose interest in the global game of cricket. It is only time, which will bring out the truth, as cricket experts are hoping that this issue between ICC and PCB is resolved with utmost urgency for the integrity of the game.

However, the current match-fixing allegations on the English team based on their performance against the Pakistani team in the 3rd ODI is under severe scrutiny, as ECB is trying to get the information the ICC is holding against them. All cricket fans and viewers around the world should hope for the best, as the World Cup 2011 is round the corner and this must be the last thing international cricket needs.

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posted @ 12:19 PM, ,

ICC World Cup coming

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Cricket World Cup 2011 will be the tenth tournament would be held. The people of the world are most excited for this big event. The tournament will be hosted by three Asian countries India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. It will be the first time to host by the Bangladesh. Last time the cricket world cup was hosted in Asia in 1996 and Sri Lanka was the winner of that tournament. The icc cricket world cup 2011 was also co-hosted by the Pakistan but the terrorist attack on Sri Lankan team in Lahore, the ICC had forced to strip Pakistan of its hosting right. In the tournament fourteen teams will participate divided in two groups.

In 2011 cricket world cup, 49 matches will be held and it is a 43 days mega events. India will host twenty nine matches at eight venues, Sri Lanka host twelve matches at three venues and Bangladesh eight matches at two venues. The venue of matches has defined as New Delhi, Mohali, Ahmadabad, Kolkata, Nagpur, Mumbai, Chennai (India), Kandy, Colombo, Hambantota (Sri Lanka) and Dhaka, Chittagong (Bangladesh).

The cricket world cup dates have fixed by International Cricket Council (ICC). The world cup will be date commence from 19th February to 2nd April 2011 and jointly hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The opening ceremony will be held from 19th February 2011 at Shere Bangla Stadium at Dhaka. Another league match will be played from 20th February to 20th March at the defined venues of all hosted country.

First and third quarterfinal will be played on 23rd and 25 March 2011 both at Shere Bangla Stadium, Dhaka. Second quarterfinal will be held on 24th march 2011 at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo and third quarter final will be played on 25th March at Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera in Ahmedabad. The both semifinal will be held on 29th and 30th March 2011 at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo and Punjab Cricket Association, Mohali. The final matches of the cricket world cup 2011 will be held on 2nd April at Wankhede Stadium.

The Cricket World Cup is the leading international championship of the One Day International (ODI) cricket. The event has organized by the International Cricket Council, the governing body of the cricket. The icc cricket world cup is the world’s fourth largest tournament and also the most viewed sporting event. The first icc cricket world cup was played in 1975 at England. The final of the cricket world cup has played between all ten test playing nation and ODI playing nations. The first two cricket world cup title was won by the West Indies. Australia is the most time winner of ICC Cricket World Cup with four titles.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the fixture of 2011 Cricket World Cup on 30th April 2006. ICC prefers to schedule up the world cup venues in different countries. The cricket world cup schedule will take place during the month of February and March 2011. The ICC official announcement has confirmed that the tournament will have fourteen teams separated equally into two groups.

Cricket lovers are eagerly waiting for cricket world cup 2011. It is going to take place in the Indian subcontinent. 123newyears is a right place to collect compleate information about the icc cricket world cup. In 2011 cricket world cup, 49 matches will be held and it is a 43 days mega events, we get more information about cricket world cup schedule, cricket world cup dates, icc cricket world cup groups, cricket world cup 2011 time table and more

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posted @ 12:06 PM, ,

Winning momentum

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England have to continue with their winning momentum, they have grabbed in the ODI series against Pakistan, ahead of the 2011 Cricket World Cup, feels fast bowler Stuart Broad.

24-year-old Broad, who has been one of the stars of England's successful run with the white ball, said conditions in Indian sub-continent will be difficult during the World Cup and so it is important to maintain high standards on the run-up.

"I think we're in a really good place as the England cricket team at the moment. We've played successful Twenty20 cricket in the past two games and also in the World Twenty20," Broad said.

"It is important for us to keep the standards high, which we have set this summer. We've got about 13 or 14 games before the ICC (Cricket) World Cup and we know what an important tournament that is.

"We know it is tough playing cricket in India as it is different conditions to what we are used to as an England team but it is still good practice winning and working on power plays and that sort of stuff,' he added.

Broad said the good form has made the England cricketers a confident lot. "We're a confident side and it is certainly up to us to transfer that form in the two Twenty20s into this one-day series and into Australia and the World Cup as we know how key momentum is in one-day cricket," he said.

Broad believes it would be a fantastic experience playing in the World Cup in the sub-continent. "We all know as international cricketers what an exciting place the sub-continent is to play cricket. The passion in the stands is great to see and the crowds are always really excitable and it is a fantastic experience to play in," he told ICC Cricket World audio show this week.

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posted @ 1:11 PM, ,

India's Team For World Cup 2011 Revealed!

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posted @ 1:10 PM, ,

Is cricket corrupt?

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By Des Kelly

Well, that's solved then. Job done. We can all pack up and move on. Who needs an investigation? Pakistan's High Commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hasan says he has spoken to the cricket players accused of corruption and already discovered 'they are innocent'.

'I have got to the bottom of it,' said our sleuth. 'I spoke to the players for two hours. They were set up.' So move along now. Nothing to see here.

Of course there is the inconvenient matter that Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer all appeared to deliver no-balls to order, exactly as an alleged fixer predicted on camera in an undercover sting.

But that is just detail, something the High Commissioner believes can be swept away in a bluster of indignation, scattergun counter-accusations and waffle.

Right now, the Pakistan authorities are in denial. As far as Hasan is concerned, there is need for a diplomatic silence until the charges are proved either way.

It is far easier for Pakistan to paint this sporting scandal as part of a wider conspiracy. The head of the International Cricket Council is an Indian, you see. The bookmakers involved in the alleged spot-fixing scam were Indian, too. 'That is why this whole frame-up has come about!' Hasan exclaimed. So, it was India's fault.

As misguidedly gung-ho public defences go, this was way past William Hague's effort. Had Hasan stuck to an argument that the burden of proof lay with the newspaper that made the accusations, innocent until proven guilty and all that, he might have garnered some sympathy.

As soon as he cast Pakistan as political martyrs to their Indian neighbours and political enemies, he was cast as a preposterous fool.

But the battleground was still shifting. Here, it might appear a simple case of whether three sportsmen took money to fix specific moments in a game; a topic for curious conversation between sips of tea and snippets of Radio 4 long wave.

That takes no account of the hysteria that surrounds cricket across the South Asian sub-continent (where sensitivities are such that even the phrase 'Indian subcontinent' is now frowned upon). Cricketers in India and Pakistan are idolised and inspire more devotion than a dozen David Beckhams on these shores. Cricket is their football.

And news that Pakistan's team were caught in yet another scandal was a terrible blow for a country that has little to cheer about right now. But it looks as if the events will be twisted and turned until the truth is lost, if Pakistani officials have their way.

After the ICC wisely suspended the accused players, the Pakistan High Commissioner - I cannot seriously call him a diplomat - was defiant.

'The ICC had no business to take action. The ICC is playing to the public gallery,' he said, noisily playing to the public gallery. He wanted to tell us the 'true facts', he said.

But it seemed difficult to imagine this blinkered, excuse-making apologist would ever be able to find the truth even if he was hunting for it with a pack of lie-detecting sniffer dogs, straining on leads held by Sherlock Holmes.

Hasan berated Scotland Yard and complained the charges were 'unhelpful'. This came just 24 hours after the delightfully named Ijaz Butt, chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, insisted the trio of accused players would remain in the touring party unless official charges were brought - thus forcing everyone's hand.

And then you remembered who was really being unhelpful. Pakistan are guests in this country. They have used England as their base for a Test series against Australia because they are unable to play in their own land following a terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka team in Lahore last year. This was no way to reward their hosts.

On many occasions I have scorned the laughable priorities of female tennis players, who increasingly believe their main concern is posing as some kind of catwalk diva rather than bothering with the actual business of using a racket. So it is only fair that mention be made of women in sport who take their trade very seriously indeed.

England's women rugby team face New Zealand in the World Cup final at Twickenham Stoop tomorrow.

Having watched a couple of games recently (a lack of midweek football can do that to a man) I assure you the contests are fast, clean and very physical indeed.

In fact I wouldn't dare condescend to scorn it, mainly because they would probably beat the Pietersen out of me, which is exactly how it should be.

Pakistan are also due to return for the next two summers, although they might not be able to count on that invitation now.

That doesn't mean the News of the World allegations are automatically right. What they have looks comprehensive and sophisticated, but they will still need a watertight case to make this stick. Video evidence of implausibly wayward no-balls during play will not be enough.

But, regardless of guilt or innocence at this stage, the Pakistani officials should know when to shut up, rather than inflame the situation further by ludicrously playing the 'victim' card.

For all the posturing and the appearance of stern action by the ICC, you suspect this sort of incident would have never been mentioned but for the fact it was splattered all over a national newspaper.

The ICC have been feeble and weak in the past when faced with fraud. They have all the clout of a Parish council and it is usually possible to make coal in the time it takes them to deliver a conclusion to any enquiry.

For all the mentions of their Anti- Corruption and Security Unit, nobody can recall them actually delivering anything tangible. They claimed to have been 'keeping an eye' on the Pakistan team for several months, although many would surmise this is the sort of incident that would have been quietly killed over lunch in an oak-panelled room had it not burst into the public domain.

Equally, you can bet (although it might be best not to) that this is just the ugly tip of a substantial turdberg of corruption, with countless incidents of spot-fixing and even the rigging of entire games going undetected over a number of years right across the world.

A few have been caught in the past. But how many have not? We'll never find out, not if officials insist on playing politics.

The upshot is that every time a ball is dropped, or a foot steps over a line, we'll all shake our heads and wonder.

I'm going to reserve judgment on Manchester United's new signing, Bebe. I've decided to take the extraordinary step of waiting to judge whether he is worth £7million until I see him kick a ball. I consider this to be a requisite part of the process.

The fairy-tale of a 20-year-old Portuguese discovered in a homeless team during a street football competition is a compelling one. It's been fascinating and bizarre to read how his value suddenly rocketed.

I can even see how it is an extraordinary gamble by Sir Alex Ferguson, who made the uncharacteristic admission that he had never seen the player before he signed him, not even on DVD.

Yet it is too soon just to assume he will be a flop. The kid might have the raw talent and just need time to adjust. He may turn out to be the most inspired gamble of this or any season.
The truth is, we don't know yet, because . . . We. Haven't. Seen. Him. Play. For. United
PL's global gold rush

It's time for the Premier League to get the atlas out again. They might as well, because everyone else is.

The NBA are staging two regular-season basketball games between the New Jersey Nets and the Toronto Raptors at London's O2 on March 4 and 5 next year.

This follows on from the NFL's seasonal sell-out at Wembley, where the San Francisco 49ers will face the Denver Broncos at the end of October.

Sports are tripping over one another in the airport in the rush to go global and, with gates down and season ticket sales in a slump, the Premier League might suddenly find excursions into new markets more attractive.

Richard Scudamore's original plan to play fixtures abroad collapsed because he wanted to add a 39th game to the schedule, which unbalanced the symmetry of the league.

But there is one thing clubs always want to balance - and that's the books.

The excellent BBC tribute to the late Alex Higgins on Wednesday night stayed on just the right side of affectionate.

It delved into the snooker star's faults, his drunkenness, erratic temperament and fights. It skipped over his drug use somewhat while highlighting his obsessive gambling.

Throughout, it managed to retain a kindness and warmth while capturing his genius with superb archive material, stuck together rather beautifully by director and producer Jason Bernard.

It was also remarkable for the gracious contributions from fellow professionals, some of whom had more than enough reason to bear a grudge against the volatile snooker star.

As the credits rolled, I was glad to have had a reminder of Higgins in his prime. But also struck by what a boon it would be to have the likes of Dennis Taylor, Steve Davis, Jimmy White and Barry Hearn in your corner.

This page went to press before last night's international games, but having witnessed the ridiculous vilification of the England manager that has taken place over the last few weeks I know what will happen. Whatever the result against Bulgaria, Fabio Capello won't win. (You can check for England reactions from Des on Twitter.)

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posted @ 1:34 PM, ,

The cricket playboys

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By David Williams and Stephen Wright

Salman Butt, the Pakistan cricket captain and one of three players suspended by the ICC over spot-fixing allegations, was seen relaxing at the wheel of a £130,000 sports car belonging to the man at the centre of the scandal.

Butt sits in the driver's seat of the Aston Martin DB9 belonging to Mazhar Majeed – the millionaire agent to Pakistan's cricketers – who crouches in the back as wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal sits in the passenger seat.

Majeed talks to the players in the car before getting out to make a phone call in private.

He then takes a seat on a wall outside the hotel as he speaks with Butt. Majeed and Butt face each other as they speak before teammate Akmal joins to listen to the conversation.

The photos emerged as investigators revealed that Majeed ran up a four-figure bill on his mobile phone in the days leading up to Pakistan's Test series against England.

Calls to suspected bookmakers and their associates in Dubai and the Far East were made from mobile phones seized by police, officials believe.
Chat: Butt and Majeed outside the team hotel in July

Several calls are said to have been made in the days leading up to last week's Lord's Test between Pakistan and England, which is at the centre of four separate match-fixing and money laundering inquiries.

Investigators say there was intense telephone usage, running into several thousand pounds, by Majeed in the days surrounding major matches by the team over a two-year period – fuelling fears that other Tests may be implicated.

They said that during August, when Pakistan played four matches against England, British-born Majeed, 35, ran up a 'substantial four-digit' bill on a mobile number that had hardly been used in the nine months since a large number of calls were made at the time of the team's controversial tour of Australia.

News of the enquiries emerged as police in Pakistan carried out raids in Faisalabad where a relative of Majeed was reported to have been arrested.

More than a dozen police officers in the city are said to be implicated and police spokesman Rana Mohammad Akran said computers had been seized and links with cricket gambling established to Dubai and the UK.

The three players implicated in the scandal – Butt, 25, and bowlers Mohammad Asif, 27, and Mohammad Aamer, 18 – were questioned separately under caution by Scotland Yard detectives in London yesterday. They were released without charge and without condition.

Their mobiles and laptop computers were taken by police in the aftermath of allegations that three no-balls were bowled at pre-determined points on the first two days of the match.
Pakistani cricketer Mohammad Aamer arrives at Kilburn police station to face questioning by police. Along with Test captain Salman Butt (below), he was later released without charge or conditions

Pakistani cricketer Mohammad Aamer arrives at Kilburn police station to face questioning by police. Along with Test captain Salman Butt (below), he was later released without charge or conditions
Pakistan cricketer Salman Butt (R) leaves Kilburn Police Station in London September 3, 2010

The Daily Mail revealed yesterday that marked notes paid by undercover reporters working for the News of the World as part of the sting are believed to have been found in Butt's belongings.

Large quantities of cash were also found in rooms in the hotel where the Pakistan team stayed, the Mail has learned, but it is unclear whether they were from the £150,000 allegedly paid to Majeed. In secretly recorded discussions, Majeed, who claimed to have set up Swiss bank accounts to pay fees to players, boasted how money was laundered through a football club he owned.

Majeed, who was arrested and bailed by police, has also been questioned along with his wife Sheliza Manji, 35, and a 49-year-old Londoner by Customs officials investigating whether more than £20million has been 'washed' through Croydon Athletic Football Club.

The cricketing authorities are braced for further revelations this weekend involving other matches.

The three players engulfed in the scandal insist they are innocent but have been suspended from all matches by the International Cricket Council, the sport's governing body.

Pakistan's High Commissioner in London has attacked the ICC over its actions, accusing it of 'just playing to the public gallery'.

Wajid Hasan said: 'I met the cricketers for two hours, cross-questioned them, got to the bottom of it and concluded that they were innocent. The ICC had no business to take this action.'

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posted @ 1:30 PM, ,


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