Pak trio charged with 'spot-fixing'

Updated at: 1614 PST,  Friday, February 04, 2011 LONDON: British prosecutors on Friday charged three Pakistan cricketers with taking bribes to fix incidents in an international match in England last year.

Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir are accused of fixing certain incidents, such as the bowling of no-balls at pre-agreed times, during the fourth test at Lord's last August.

Britain's Crown Prosecution Service said the trio, along with a fourth man, sporting agent Mazhar Majeed, had been charged with conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments and with conspiracy to cheat.

"These charges relate to allegations that Mr Majeed accepted money from a third party to arrange for the players to bowl `no balls' on 26 and 27 August 2010, during Pakistan's Fourth Test at Lord's Cricket Ground in London," said Simon Clements, head of the CPS Special Crime Division.

He said Majeed had been ordered to appear at London's City of Westminster Magistrates Court on March 17.

"Summonses for the same court date have been issued for the three players and they have been asked to return to this country voluntarily, as they agreed to do in September last year," Clements said.

"Their extradition will be sought should they fail to return," he added

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January 22, 2011	Saturday	6:00 AM	Pakistan	vs	New Zealand	1st ODI	Westpac Stadium, Wellington	New Zealand won by 9 wkts
January 26, 2011	Wednesday	3:00 AM	Pakistan	vs	New Zealand	2nd ODI	Queenstown Events Centre, Queenstown	Match abandoned due to rain
January 29, 2011	Saturday	6:00 AM	Pakistan	vs	New Zealand	3rd ODI	AMI Stadium, Christchurch	pakistan won by 50 runs
February 01, 2011	Tuesday	6:00 AM	Pakistan	vs	New Zealand	4th ODI	McLean Park, Napier	pakistan won by2 wkts
February 03, 2011	Thursday	6:00 AM	Pakistan	vs	New Zealand	5th ODI	Seddon Park, Hamilton
February 05, 2011	Saturday	3:00 AM	Pakistan	vs	New Zealand	6th ODI	Eden Park, Auckland

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Afridi named skipper for mega event: Intikhab

Updated at: 0619 PST,  Friday, February 04, 2011
LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) late on Thursday night resolved to retain Shahid Khan Afridi as captain to lead the Pakistan side in the cricket World Cup, to be held from February 19 to April 2 in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Pakistan team manager Intikhab Alam claimed this while talking to media after Pakistan won an ODI series against Kiwis by 3-1 after 17 years in New Zealand.

The PCB announced their 15-man squad for the showpiece event on January 18 but did not announce a skipper until today (Friday).

Pakistan’s current limited-overs captain Shahid Afridi and the Test skipper Misbahul Haq were the two contenders for leading the team in the World Cup.

They downplayed the ongoing row but former players lashed out PCB, saying the decision was likely to harm team’s unity.

Afridi had earlier said: “It would not be an issue for me if I am removed from captaincy.”

“It doesn’t make a difference whether Misbah leads the side or I lead the side because we both are playing for our country.”

Afridi had also dismissed reports of differences with Misbah. “We don’t have any differences. He is a good player who remains focused on his job,” Afridi maintained.

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UK to announce decision on trio today

Updated at: 0830 PST,  Friday, February 04, 2011
LONDON: British prosecutors will announce on Friday whether three Pakistan cricketers accused of taking bribes to fix incidents in an international match in England last year will be charged with criminal offences.

Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were questioned by London police over claims they fixed certain incidents, such as the bowling of no-balls at pre-agreed times, during the fourth test at Lord's last August.

All three deny any wrongdoing.

A spokesman for Britain's Crown Prosecution Service said the decision on whether to charge them would be given shortly after 1100 GMT by Simon Clements, the head of its Special Crime Division.

A fourth man, sporting agent, Mazhar Majeed will also learn if he is to face charges of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers.

Former test captain Butt, and fast bowlers Asif and Amir have been suspended by the International Cricket Council while the allegations are investigated.

An International Cricket Council anti-corruption tribunal will announce on Saturday its verdict on the "spot-fixing" allegations. If they are found guilty, they face lengthy career-threatening bans.

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