Pakistan match fixing allegations rock cricket

LONDON - Pakistan`s entire cricket team is under suspicion for match fixing following a British newspaper`s publication of an expose in which a middleman allegedly took £150,000 to help fix elements of the fourth Test match against England.

Police arrested Mazhar Majeed, who claims to be the manager of ten Pakistan cricket players, for conspiracy to defraud bookmakers on the back of evidence supplied by the News of the World tabloid newspaper.

The newspaper alleges that Majeed took a £150,000 payment and was able to tell undercover reporters the exact over and ball in which Pakistani bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif would deliver three no balls. Majeed claimed to the reporters that Pakistan captain Salman Butt was in control of the match fixing.Wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal was also named by Majeed as being involved.

Majeed told reporters: "I`m going to give you three no-balls to prove to you firstly that this is what`s happening. They`ve all been organised, okay?". The bowlers then bowled no-balls exactly when he had predicted they would.

Majeed also boasted that betting syndicates had made millions of profits from matches he had fixed. He also said that he would be fixing two of the one day internationals being played against England in September. He claimed that he had helped bettors make US$1.3 million profit when Pakistan sensationally lost the second Test match against Australia in Sydney last January. On the fifth day Australia led by 49 runs with two wickets remaining but managed to put on 124 runs under the final two batsman, to set Pakistan a relatively achievable target of 176. However Pakistan were bowled out for 139. Bookmakers across the Indian subcontinent reported that the result had been very favourable to bettors.

However the allegations printed in the News of the World mainly relate to "spot fixing" rather than the fixing of whole matches. In spot fixing certain elements of the match are fixed - for example, how many runs will be scored in the first 10 overs - rather than the outright result, although obviously that fixing has an impact on the overall match result.

The only bookmakers taking bets on these "brackets" within matches are illegal bookies in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and no online bookies in Europe offer betting on these events. Even if they did, the amounts of money they would accept on these elements of a game would be so small as to not make it worth players or criminals fixing the match.

The Pakistan Cricket Board are investigating the allegations but it looks likely the five match one day international series against England will go ahead, as well two Twenty20 internationals. The main reason for this is that to cancel them would have an enormous financial impact on both the PCB and the England and Wales Cricket Board and the £12 million of lost revenues would have a huge negative impact on the ECB.

It seems most likely the PCB will suspend the players alleged to have been involved while investigations take place and a weakened Pakistan team will play the seven matches.