Spot fixing trial: Indian offered Pakistanis $1m to throw Test

LONDON : A shadowy Indian contact offered the agent of several Pakistan cricketers $1 million to ensure they threw a Test match against England, a London court heard Tuesday.The jury in the trial of former Pakistan captain Salman Butt and fast bowler Mohammad Asif saw video footage of meetings between the players' agent Mazhar Majeed and undercover News of the World reporter...

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Ponting happy to drop down batting order

PERTH : Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting says he is happy to drop down the Test batting order to accommodate Shaun Marsh at No. 3.The 36-year-old, who has scored 12,487 runs in 154 Tests, has long come in to bat at first drop but slotted in as No. 4 during the second Test against Sri Lanka last month in which Marsh scored 141 at No.3 on his debut.Marsh followed...

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Cricket Australia slams “outlandish” allegations

SYDNEY : Cricket Australia on Tuesday said it was not aware of any evidence implicating Australian players in match-fixing and slammed the credibility of the man who made the claims in a London court.The details emerged as Mazher Mahmood, the former investigations editor for Rupert Murdoch's now-defunct News of the World tabloid, gave evidence at the trial of ex-Pakistan...

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Wasim, Waqar, Ijaz and Moin involved in match-fixing: Majeed

LONDON : A sports agent accused of taking bribes to fix matches said Pakistan's best known former players were involved in betting scams and that Australian cricketers were "the biggest" culprits, a London court heard on Monday. Agent Mazhar Majeed, 36, told an undercover journalist match-fixing had been going on "for centuries" and named celebrated former Pakistan...

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Tests fix cost £1mn, says agent in spot-fixing trial

LONDON : A British sports agent representing two Pakistani cricketers accused of a betting scam told an undercover reporter that Test matches could be thrown for £1 million, a court in London heard on Monday.The claim emerged as the former investigations editor for Rupert Murdoch's now-defunct News of the World tabloid, Mazher Mahmood, gave evidence at the trial of ex-Pakistan...

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Wisden to launch Indian edition

LONDON : Cricket bible Wisden is to launch a separate Indian edition, its publishers revealed on Monday.Cricket in India is booming and Wisden India will focus on all areas of the Indian game from Test matches through to domestic cricket and has set itself the aim of becoming the independent voice of cricket in the home of the reigning world champions."The chance to marry...

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Gayle absence haunts Windies' Bangladesh tour

DHAKA : The glaring absence of Chris Gayle stood out as the West Indies prepared to open their Bangladesh tour with a Twenty20 international in Dhaka on Tuesday.The explosive left-hander was omitted for the tour, which also includes three one-dayers and two Tests, following a breakdown in his relationship with the West Indies Cricket Board following the World Cup earlier...

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Chaudhry Zaka Ashraf appointed new PCB chairman

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari has appointed Chaudhry Zaka Ashraf as the new chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Prior to his appointment Ashraf was serving as the president of the Zarai Taraqiati Bank....

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UAE registers 15-run win over Afghanistan

United Arab Emirates registered a 15 run win over Afghanistan in the first game in the two-match 50-over Associate and Affiliate League encounter on Monday at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.In a day-night match, UAE batted first and was bowled out for 198 in 44.3 overs. The key contributors to the UAE score initially was opener Faizan Asif (36) and one-drop Shaiman Anwar...

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Results of the ICC Executive Board meeting in Dubai

The ICC Executive Board held its fourth and final scheduled meeting of the year at the ICC headquarters in Dubai yesterday and among the decisions they made were: Independent Governance Review The ICC Executive Board received a progress report from Lord Woolf of Barnes in his role as chairman of the Independent Governance Review panel. Lord Woolf, who is supported by PricewaterhouseCoopers...

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How Swann conquered cricket

England off-spinner Graeme Swann has said that what makes him so proud is that he has remained true to his joking Jack-the-Lad character, even if it meant upsetting people along the way.Swann, whose explosive new autobiography The Breaks Are Off is being serialised in Sun Sport this week, has given us an exclusive and revealing interview.He talks about his mistakes, his...

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