KARACHI : The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) plans to launch its own
inquiry into the spot-fixing scandal that led to jail terms for three
former internationals in Britain this week, chairman Zaka Ashraf said on
Saturday. Addressing reporters in Lahore, Ashraf said the
board would first await a detailed report on the London Crown Court case
before aiming to identify those whose negligence allowed the
controversy to occur. "We will aim to discover the
circumstances and negligence that led to the spot-fixing scandal that
has badly hurt the image of Pakistan cricket," he said. "When
the scandal happened, we had our anti-corruption officers present with
the team and we want to know how this thing happened." Salman
Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were given sentences ranging from
six to 30 months on Thursday for their role in a gambling-inspired plot
to bowl deliberate no-balls in the fourth Test against England at
Lord's last year. The three former internationals had
already been banned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for a
minimum of five years when news of the plot was first made public last
September. Ashraf, who took over as PCB chief last month,
said he would also be sending a letter to the ICC reiterating Pakistan's
support for the anti-corruption drive by the world governing body. "PCB
will never support players who are found involved in corruption or
fixing. We want to assure the ICC that we will cooperate in any
investigation initiated by them," he added. Media reports
suggested the ICC anti-corruption and security unit could launch a more
detailed investigation into fixing allegations on basis of the evidence
submitted to the Southwark Crown Court during the trial of the three
players. Ashraf said the PCB would also be asking the
government to legislate a parliamentary law that makes fixing or
corruption in cricket a criminal offence. (Reuters)
