Aamer is 'not that kind of chap'

The mentor and coach of teenage cricket prodigy Mohammad Aamer, Asif Bajwa rejected allegations that the youngster is involved in corruption after he was named in an undercover match-fixing investigation.

Asif Bajwa told The Associated Press that Aamer, who has been likened to Wasim Akram, ‘is not that kind of chap.’ Mohammad Aamer was named Man of the Series and collected a £4000 cheque from the sponsors.

The 18-year-old Aamer claimed a test best 6-84 in the fourth test against England on Saturday. Hours later a British newspaper alleged he and fellow opening bowler Mohammad Asif deliberately bowled no-balls in a spot-fixing scam.

Asif Bajwa first met the left-arm fast bowler when he enrolled at Bajwa’s cricket and school academy in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

Sports minister promises life bans

Sports Minister Ijaz Hussain Jakhrani promised life bans for any Pakistani cricketers found guilty of match-fixing. He said he is waiting for the Pakistan Cricket Board’s report on the match-fixing allegations, so he can take action accordingly.

The cricket board was ordered to prepare the report by President Asif Ali Zardari.

Zardari’s spokesperson, Farhatullah Babar, said the President wanted to be kept informed of developments of any inquiry that may be ordered or held in London. He said PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt has been directed to immediately submit a preliminary report about the incident.

‘Current scandal could have been avoided’

The current match-fixing allegations against the Pakistani players in England could have been averted had the recommendations made by the Qayyum Commission been fully implemented.

Malik Mohammad Qayyum told AFP while many of his recommendations were upheld, two players were banned and several were fined.

Qayyum claimed the Pakistan Cricket Board was not ‘strong enough’ to implement other recommendations. He said some of the players are still involved in the team’s coaching, despite his recommendation against them.

Moreover, Qayyum said he recommended that players’ assets must be examined annually, though this too remained unimplemented

Shahid Afridi may resign from captaincy

KARACHI: Pakistan’s captain in the One Day Internationals and Twenty20, Shahid Khan Afridi, is likely to resign from his post as protest against a group of players in the team.

Sources told The Sports Encounter on Sunday that Shahid Afridi is disappointed on the situation emerged after seven of the Pakistani players playing in the Lord’s Test were accused of match fixing and spot fixing.

Sources said that Afridi had already told the team manager Yawar Saeed about this group of players having contacts with two suspicious persons, Mazhar Majeed and Azhar Majeed
                 
It is important to mention here that Mazhar Majeed as arrested by the Scotland Yard on Saturday and he disclosed in Police interrogation that a group of players in Pakistan cricket is involved in spot fixing and match fixing.
Afridi had complained about this group of players to the team manager during the ICC World Twenty20 and suspected that some players committed the crime of spot fixing.
                                
Sources further stated that Yawar Saeed paid no heed to Afridi’s concerns and in the end Pakistan was defeated by Australia in the semi-final in quite dubious fashion.
As per sources, Afridi doesn’t want to keep this group of players in the team as Pakistan are due to take on England in five one Day International and two Twenty20 Internationals, starting from September 5, 2010.
If his concerns were not attended by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) authorities, Afridi would tender his resignation from captaincy of both ODIs and T20 teams, the sources concluded.

'Pak players were in touch with bookies during T20 WC'

The Pakistani cricketers' cup of woes seems to be spilling over as British detectives have got hold of audio tapes in which some of them are heard discussing 'spot-fixing' with bookies during the Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies earlier this year. Sources in the team in England have revealed that when Metropolitan detectives questioned the Pakistani players suspected of taking bribes from arrested bookie Majeed Mazhar to do 'spot-fixing' in the fourth Test against England at Lord's, they were also questioned about their telephone conversations during the Twenty20 World Cup.

"The detectives have audio tapes confirming that some players used to speak to Majeed in which they discussed spot fixing in some World Cup games," a team source said.

He also disclosed that Pakistan's one-day captain Shahid Afridi had warned the touring team management to keep the Players away from Mazhar and Azhar Majeed on the current tour of England.

The source said Afridi asked manager Yawar Saeed and assistant manager Shafqat Rana to ensure the two brothers were not allowed near the dressing room or the team hotel.

"Shahid told the management that he suspected Mazhar and Azhar were linked to bookmakers and were corrupting players

particularly Salman Butt and Kamran Akmal," the source said.

The source said Afridi felt that the two brothers one of whom, Majeed, who is now in the custody of the Metropolitan police in London, was always in touch with the players.
"Yawar didn't pay heed," the source said. The source said Afridi also decided to retire from Test cricket after the first Test defeat to Australia at Lord's because he was uncomfortable with the close ties some players had with the two brothers.

"Maybe Shahid got a whiff of things to come and decided to step aside," the source said. The source said the influence of the two brothers was so strong in the team that some players also didn't want Afridi to continue as one-day and T20 captain after he retired from Test cricket.

Pakistan Match Fixing video at Lord's Amir, Asif, Butt involved (FULL)

Differences in Pak dressing room may cause trouble: Source

The Pakistan cricket camp could be heading for yet another controversy after the reports emanated from the touring squad in England that captain Salman Butt was not seeing eye to eye with the coach and a particular group is still calling the shots in the national team.

Details collected by this correspondent have confirmed that there was plenty of resentment in the Pakistan dressing room after the second day of the fourth Test against England.
"The Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board Ijaz Butt who is in London was unhappy with the performance of the players and conveyed to them that if they couldn't perform they could leave the team, he would find replacements for them," one insider said.
"Butt gave them a piece of his mind and some of the players resented the way he conveyed his feelings to them," the insider added.
Pakistan allowed England to recover from a precarious 50 for five to 347 for seven at stumps on the second day with clear on-field tactical blunders by the captain and other players being noticed.
Sources said that Salman Butt himself was not very happy that he still didn't have complete authority to take decisions and that the coaching staff and management were dictating to him.
"Coach Waqar Younus and his assistant coaches and the management are in a strong position and are backing a particular group in the team which is causing issues," one source said.
The Pakistani media tore into the team management after Waqar and assistant manager Shafqat Rana were shown in dancing and celebrating the fall of the early England wickets on television.
"What happened to the celebrations at the end of the day and that is what Ijaz Butt also asked of the players," the source said.
Waqar also had differences with the chief selector, Mohsin Khan during the selection of the one-day squad as he wanted some players to be retained but his suggestions were rejected by the chief selector.
Pakistan cricket since last year has been hit by several controversies mainly created due to groupings in the team and because of player power.
"Even now certain players in the team call the shots and dictate terms and the way final playing elevens are finalised," the source said.
He said that chief selector Mohsin Khan had conveyed to the PCB Chairman that he was not satisfied with the way selection of the playing teams were made during the series.
"It is the prerogative of the tour selection committee to finalise the playing eleven in a series," the source explained.

Police question Pakistan cricket team over newspaper's matchfixing allegations

LONDON — Police have questioned Pakistan's cricket team over newspaper allegations of matchfixing during the current Test match against England at Lord's, the team's manager said on Saturday.

"I can confirm that we are aware of the allegations and Scotland Yard police are with us now at the hotel and we are helping with their inquiries," team manager Yawar Saeed told The Associated Press. "This is as much as I can say at the moment."

British newspaper the News of the World alleged in its Sunday edition that Pakistan players were

Secretly paid to deliberately bowl no-balls during the fourth and final Test against England as part of a betting scam.

The newspaper says it has secretly-filmed video footage of its undercover reporters, posing as front men for a Far East gambling cartel, in discussion with a man who appears to accept 150,000 pounds (C$244,000) in order to make sure no-balls are bowled at certain times during the match.

The News of the World says it has passed all its evidence to the police.
Scotland Yard police said in a statement: "Following information received from the News of the World, we have today arrested a 35-year-old man on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers."
The International Cricket Council said it was aware of the situation and it, along with the England and Wales Cricket Board and the Pakistan Cricket Board, was "fully assisting" police with their inquiries.
"No players nor team officials have been arrested in relation to this incident and the fourth npower Test match will continue as scheduled on Sunday," said the ICC's statement. "As this is now subject to a police investigation neither ICC, ECB, PCB nor the ground authority, the MCC, will make any further comment."
Any player found guilty of involvement in matchfixing faces a life ban from the sport.
Pakistan needs to win the final Test against England at Lord's to salvage a draw in the four-match series, but it faces an uphill task after scoring just 74 in reply to England's first innings total of 446.

Many players want Afridi removed because he is ‘Honest’? (Majeed)

He said: “Boss I’m telling you, the timing you’ve come into. It’s perfect because the one days and Twenty20s are about to start and we’re going to be making a hell of a lot money.”

Incredibly, he said he could guarantee Pakistan would LOSE two one-dayers.

He explained many players want Test skipper Salman Butt to remain captain for all matches, but the Pakistanis have drafted in veteran Shahid Afridi to lead the side for the one day internationals and Twenty20 matches. Majeed said: “A lot of the boys want to f*** up Afridi because he’s trying to f*** up things for them.
“They all want Butt to be captain. They want to lose anyway.
“Let’s say for example Twenty20, I’ll tell you the bowlers, how many minimum runs they’re going to concede. And the batsmen. I’m going to tell you how many, like say it was on the two opening batsmen, Salman and Kamal, for example, you’ve only got twenty overs, they’re going to waste two overs, three overs.
“The Twenty20s are easiest. Then the bowlers as well, yeah, they will certainly give a certain amount of runs and they’re going to be batting as well and give their wickets. We’ll finalise a price for each one and we’ll just take it off the balance. We’ll take it off the 150 (grand) balance until we’re square.”
And he reassured: “Boss believe me, you are talking to the right people.”

Match-fixer pockets £150k as he rigs England Test at Lord's

          News of the World smashes multi-million pound cricket match-fixing scandal

THE News of the World has smashed a multi-million pound cricket match-fixing ring which RIGGED the current Lord's Test between England and Pakistan.

In the most sensational sporting scandal ever, bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif delivered THREE blatant no-balls to order. Their London-based fixer Mazhar Majeed, who let us in on the betting scam for £150,000, crowed "this is no coincidence" before the bent duo made duff deliveries at PRECISELY the moments promised to our reporter.

Armed with our damning dossier of video evidence, Scotland Yard launched their own probe into the scandal

How England Pakistan Test match was rigged for £150,000

Millions around the world watched Pakistan star bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif deliver three no-balls in the Test against England on Thursday and Friday at the historic home of cricket, Lord's in London.

Unsuspecting fans packed the ground yesterday to watch Pakistan collapse as they were bowled out for 74 in their first innings and forced to follow on.

           CAUGHT: Fixer Majeed beckons to our man to begin the £150,000 handover

But today our shock footage of the players' fixer Mazhar Majeed taking a massive £150,000 cash, and telling us EXACTLY when the no-balls would come, proves the game was RIGGED.
Having already trousered a £10,000 upfront deposit - which he insisted had gone to the stars - Majeed sat in our west London hotel room at the Copthorne Tara on Wednesday night and eagerly counted out the £140,000 balance in bundles of crisp £50 notes - our "entry ticket" into his already successful betting scam.
Our undercover team was posing as front men for a Far East gambling cartel. In return for their suitcase of money Majeed then calmly detailed what would happen - and when - on the field of play next day, as a taster of all the lucrative information he could supply in future.
He promised: "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?
"This is EXACTLY what's going to happen, you're going to SEE these three things happen. I'm telling you, if you play this right you're going to make a lot of money, believe me!"

           LEFT TO RIGHT: Bowler Asif, skipper Butt, bowler Amir, keeper Akmal

We can sensationally reveal Majeed identified young Pakistan captain Salman Butt as the ringleader of the band of cheats. He also named wicket keeper Kamran Akmal and boasted he had a total of SEVEN corrupt cricketers in his pocket, all banking huge sums from bookies and betting syndicates. The scam, fuelled by greed, is a betrayal by the players not only of their sport but of their cricket-crazy homeland.

                        COUNTING IT OUT: Fixer tots cash up bundle by bundle

As millions back home in Pakistan struggle against hunger and disease amid devastating floods, the cheats were defiling the reputation of Lord's and lining their own pockets.
In a meeting with our investigators puppet-master Majeed:
BRAGGED that the scam is rife and future games against England this summer are already earmarked for cheating.
CONFESSED his match-fixing round the world had netted customers MILLIONS.
REVEALED how he oversees cheating by using no-balls, specifying how many runs will be scored or conceded in certain overs, with signals such as changing gloves to confirm the fix is on.
ADMITTED he abuses his position as owner of non-league Croydon Athletic FC to launder his illicit gains.
At one stage Majeed told us our syndicate could make "absolutely millions, millions" by paying him up to £450,000 a time for info on matches, then placing bets on the fixed outcome. And he tried to excuse the players' shameful behaviour, claiming: "These poor boys need to. They're paid peanuts."

Majeed said he had even opened Swiss bank accounts for them to hide their ill-gotten gains. We launched our investigation two weeks ago after a tip-off. The Pakistan side has long been dogged by match-fixing allegations. Only today has the full shocking extent been laid bare.

Property tycoon Majeed, 35, has a £1.8 million home in Surrey and is a familiar face at cricket grounds around the world. We infiltrated his criminal network posing as wealthy businessmen on the make.

Majeed turned up for our first meeting on Monday, August 16, at the Hilton in London's Park Lane, dressed in jeans and a sweater. He immediately started bragging of his connections with the Pakistani team. "I manage ten of the players," he told us. "I do all their affairs like contracts, sponsorship, marketing, everything. I work very closely with the PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board)."
Our reporters told him they wanted to organise their own Twenty20 tournament in the Middle East. Majeed claimed he would be able to provide his players for the right fee. When our man assured Majeed the players would do well out of it, he immediately said with a wink: "I know what you're talking about because I know what goes on!"
Majeed then hinted at the extent of cheating in the game. .

REPORTER: "If there's two or three that are on for the other side, the betting side, then good luck - they'll be really happy."
MAJEED: "There's more than two or three. Believe me. It's already set up. That's already there. I'm very wary speaking about this simply because I don't know you guys. I've been dealing with these guys for seven years, okay? Who we deal with and how we deal with it is very, very important. This is the main thing. I'm only dealing with certain people. How we do it and what we do is very, very crucial."
REPORTER: "You're already dealing with another party on this matter? Give us some tips as well if you've got any. Happy to cut us in?"
MAJEED: "Yeah I'll give you tips."
REPORTER: "If there's anything we need to know in the forthcoming match let me know. Happy to pay."
Majeed said he was worried our men could be wearing tape recorders and he would check them out before going further.

IT'S A DEAL: Satisfied Majeed puts money back in case

Two days later at the Bombay Brasserie Indian restaurant in central London, Majeed told us we had begun to gain his trust. He had spent the day at the Oval where Pakistan bowled England out for 233 on the first day of the third Test. After a trusted source vouched for our credentials, Majeed relaxed and laid his cards

on the table. . .

MAJEED: "I do feel that I can speak to you about this, okay? Now, yes. . . there is very big money in it."
REPORTER: "There's still? I know there was, but they clamped down on match fixing I heard."
MAJEED: "They've toned down match-fixing a lot, yeah. They've made it very, very difficult. These guys won't deal with just anybody. The only reason they'll deal with me is because they know I'm professional, they've known me for years.
"I've been doing it with them, the Pakistani team, for about 2½ years. And we've made masses and masses of money."
Later that night Majeed boasted how it was the players who got HIM into match-fixing. He told us: "The players would never tell anybody else. They were the ones who actually approached me about this. This is the beauty of it.
"I was friends with them for four, five years and then they said this happens. I said really?"

OVER: Majeed leaves with the cash that fixed Lord's Test

Majeed then described how the betting scam operates. He reached into a carrier bag, pulled out a white

BlackBerry phone and flicked through a series of messages.

"I deal with an Indian party," he said. "They pay me for the information."
Then Majeed explained how many cricket bets are placed on what he called "brackets" - events happening in a group of 10 overs. If players score well in the first three overs punters would be likely to bet on that continuing for the next seven. But if the fixed players then deliberately STOP scoring or slow down, anybody in on it can "make a killing", said Majeed. The same happens with bowlers giving away runs or throwing no-balls.
Not only is Majeed's information invaluable to syndicates involved in spread betting - where wagers are staked on a range of possible outcomes - it is also golddust for shady bookies looking to manipulate the odds in their favour.
The following night - Thursday August 19 - Majeed demanded £10,000 then revealed to us there would be two no-balls in the following day's Oval play.
That fix was cancelled on the day. So was a promised maiden over by captain Salman Butt on the Saturday - final day of the Test England lost. But days later - with our extra £140,000 in his hands - he delivered the promised goods at Lord's.
Last night a Scotland Yard spokesman said: "Following information from the News of the World we have today arrested a 35-year-old man on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers."
Scotland Yard officers last night visited Lord's and the Pakistan players' London hotel. Police are set to speak to the players today.
In a joint statement issued early today, the International Cricket Council, the England and Wales Cricket Board and the Pakistan Cricket Board confirmed the Test would resume today as planned.
The statement added all three bodies were assisting the police with their inquiries, but as the matter was under investigation they would not be making any further comment.

Afridi extends help to flood victims

Pakistan ODI captain Shahid Afridi will hold two charity dinners in UK to raise funds for the millions of people left homeless by the devastating floods in his country.

The flamboyant all-rounder said from London that he hoped to raise considerable amount of donation in cash and kind from the charity dinners and had the full support of the national team behind him.

"Players in the team are well aware of the devastation caused by these floods and the fact that how much need there is for us cricketers to also contribute towards rehabilitation of these homeless people," Afridi said.

The all-rounder has already visited some flood-hit areas before leaving for England where he will captain the national team in two Twenty20 matches and five ODIs against the hosts next month.
Afridi said he had received very good response from all sections of society in his appeal for donation in Pakistan and he personally distributed goods and cash to the flood victims.
"We distributed goods worth Rs 2 million in Nowshera," he said.
Afridi said that it was good to see the Pakistan cricket community also get on one platform to raise the funds for the flood victims.
"If I get a chance to speak to players of other teams I will also request them to give us a helping hand because millions have been affected by the floods," he said.
Afridi referring to the series itself said he saw it as a golden opportunity to start finalising the nucleus of the team for the 2011 World Cup, to be held in the sub-continent.
"After this ODI series in England we will know the shortlist of players who will eventually be in contention for the World Cup.
"I think, it is time for us to try our new combinations because unless we do that we can't move forward or hope to do well in the World Cup," he said.
Afridi also said though as captain the ODI series in England was a big challenge for him but it would also allow the selectors and team management to shortlist players for the World Cup.
"We have some very good players of T20 and 50-over cricket and we need to finalise our World Cup squad in advance so that we can put up a good show in the mega event."
He feels those days were gone when Pakistan, India or Sri Lanka could say that they had advantage of playing in the sub-continental conditions.
"I think this World Cup will be a close one as now nearly every second team and players are used to the conditions in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and even Pakistan. So it is a question of doing your best on a given day," he said.

Afridi to hold charity dinners in UK for flood victims

Karachi, Aug 28 (PTI) Pakistan ODI captain Shahid Afridi will hold two charity dinners in England this weekend to raise funds for the millions of people displaced and left homeless by the devastating floods in his country.

The flamboyant all-rounder said from London that he hoped to raise considerable amount of donation in cash and kind from the charity dinners and had the full support of the national team behind him.

"Players in the team are well aware of the devastation caused by these floods and the fact that how much need there is for us cricketers to also contribute towards rehabilitation of these homeless people," Afridi said.

The all-rounder has already visited some flood-hit areas before leaving for England where he will captain the national team in two Twenty20 matches and five ODIs against the hosts next month.

Afridi said he had received very good response from all sections of society in his appeal for donation in Pakistan and he personally distributed goods and cash to the flood victims.

"We distributed goods worth Rs 2 million in Nowshera," he said.

Afridi said that it was good to see the Pakistan cricket community also get on one platform to raise the funds for the flood victims.

"If I get a chance to speak to players of other teams I will also request them to give us a helping hand because millions have been affected by the floods," he said.

Afridi referring to the series itself said he saw it as a golden opportunity to start finalising the nucleus of the team for the 2011 World Cup, to be held in the sub-continent.

"After this ODI series in England we will know the shortlist of players who will eventually be in contention for the World Cup.

"I think, it is time for us to try our new combinations because unless we do that we can''t move forward or hope to do well in the World Cup," he said.

Afridi also said though as captain the ODI series in England was a big challenge for him but it would also allow the selectors and team management to shortlist players for the World Cup.

"We have some very good players of T20 and 50-over cricket and we need to finalise our World Cup squad in advance so that we can put up a good show in the mega event."

He feels those days were gone when Pakistan, India or Sri Lanka could say that they had advantage of playing in the sub-continental conditions.

"I think this World Cup will be a close one as now nearly every second team and players are used to the conditions in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and even Pakistan. So it is a question of doing your best on a given day," he said.