The England and Wales Cricket Board is desperate for the one-day leg of Pakistan's tour to go ahead despite the allegations of corruption that surround the team after yesterday's exposé.
Sources close to the board say a cancellation of the two Twenty20 internationals and five one-day fixtures that remain would cost the ECB £10m-£12m, roughly half its reserves at a time when the game is under growing financial strain. The board is hoping that Shahid Afridi, Pakistan's one-day captain who arrived in London last night, will act as a power broker who can ensure the series goes ahead in the wake of the alleged betting scandal that has plunged international cricket into crisis and brought calls for life bans for any players found guilty. The ECB is believed to be demanding that the three players implicated in the scandal be omitted from the one-day series as part of a deal with the Pakistan board.Afridi, who resigned as Pakistan's Test captain after their defeat against Australia at Lord's this summer, will take over the captaincy from Butt, implicated in the News of the World sting, when the first Twenty20 international begins in Cardiff on Sunday.
Reports in Pakistan, from sources close to Afridi, suggest that he implored the Pakistan tour manager, Yawar Saeed, to keep the players away from the brothers Mazhar and Azhar Majeed. Mazhar Majeed, who claims to manage 10 Pakistan players, including Butt, was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers but was bailed without charge by police last night.
