Pakistan head to Taunton

The Pakistan squad has left London for Taunton amid the allegations of spot-fixing surrounding several players, while the man at the centre of the scandal, Mazhar Majeed, has been released on bail by Scotland Yard pending further questioning at a later date. Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif, the three players who have had mobile phones confiscated, have travelled with the squad to Somerset.

Several Pakistan fans outside the team hotel in Swiss Cottage shouted "thieves" at the players as they boarded the coach while Sky News reported that police had removed a number of eggs from people waiting for the coach to leave.

Originally the tourists weren't due to leave London until Tuesday, but the four-day finish to the final Test at Lord's means they have brought forward their departure. They are due to play a warm-up match against Somerset on Thursday before travelling to Cardiff for the first of two Twenty20 internationals on September 5.

Richard Gould, the Somerset chief executive, said the county was preparing as normal for the team's arrival. "We are expecting them in the next 12-24 hours," he told Cricinfo. "They are due to train on Wednesday, but if they need anything before then they'll have the use of the indoor school and gym. We hope to give them the best chance to prepare for the one-day series."
Gould added that the club would be implementing the security plans they used during the World Twenty20 last year when Taunton hosted the women's group matches, but that wasn't a response to events of the last 24 hours.

"We aren't looking at increasing the security presence," he said. "We had already decided to implement the
plans from last year because it was a high-profile side visiting and the model we used at the World Twenty20 was drawn up to cater for such events."
There are a number of fresh faces joining up with the squad for the one-day leg of the tour, including Shoaib Akhtar and Shahid Afridi, who returns as captain in place of Salman Butt having given up the leadership following the first Test against Australia, at Lord's, in July. Six players who aren't involved are returning to Pakistan with Imran Farhat, Raza Hasan, Shoaib Malik, Tanvir Ahmed, Umar Amin and Yasir Hameed not included for the Twenty20 and ODIs.
Following the conclusion of the Test on Sunday, Pakistan's team management insisted that their one-day series will go ahead as planned next week and Sharad Pawar, the ICC president, said that was also the feeling of the governing body. "It's the desire of the ICC England and Pakistan that the series should continue," he said.

Andrew Strauss, however, admitted to mixed feelings about the series of five ODIs and two Twenty20s and said that he and his team needed to come to terms with the current issue before turning their attention to the rest of the tour.
"I honestly think that the best thing to do is let the dust settle on this," said Strauss, when asked about the feasibility of the tour continuing. "It's all new and raw and it's easy to get quite emotional about things right at the moment. For all of us, it's better to see how things pan out - clearly the ICC, ECB and Pakistan Cricket Board have to sit down and put their heads together, and decide what the best way forward is, and we as a cricket team we have to take stock as well.
When asked if he was happy to carry on playing against a team that has been accused of deliberately underperforming, Strauss offered a response that was non-committal at best. "It's just so hard to say with incomplete information at this stage," he said. "From our point of view we are going to sit down and have a couple of drinks and celebrate the fact that we won the series tonight. And then in the next few days I'm sure a lot of things will become a lot clearer."
The ultimate decision, he added, would be made at boardroom level. "That's something for the ICC, the ECB and the PCB to sit down and decide what the best way forward is. Clearly there are going to be some very strong reasons for the series to go ahead, but they've also got to sit down and think about what the right thing to do is, going forward, and that's their decision."
Pakistan's manager, Yawar Saeed, however, insisted that the itinerary would continue as planned, with a one-day warm-up against Somerset at Taunton scheduled for Thursday. "As far as I'm concerned the one-day series is on."

Waseem Akram: Hear out the accused players

Former Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram feels it would be hasty to label the seven players as culprits.The Pakistan team management on Sunday confirmed that some national cricketers were under investigation for having taken bribes for spot-fixing in the final Test vs England at Lord’s.
Speaking exclusively to espnstar.com, Akram said that these spot-fixing allegations might have brought turmoil in Pakistan cricket but one must not make drastic conclusions.

“The team morale is down big time, there is a controversy in which six to seven players are involved. The media in Pakistan has already given their verdict on these allegations but one must wait for the allegations to be proven. I know that these controversial claims are bad for the game and the team but we should wait to hear the other side of the story too. The saying ‘innocent unless proven guilty’ must be applied to the players,” Akram said.

The spot-fixing controversy was triggered off after a sting operation by a British tabloid disclosed the involvement of a 35-year-old property tycoon and alleged match-fixer Mazhar Majeed who was seen boasting about the spots being fixed in the final Test at Lords which Pakistan lost by a record an innings-and 225-run margin.
The pace legend said that the row seems to have saddened Pakistan as a whole. “Generally the controversy is looking bad. It’s a bad time for Pakistan and Pakistan cricket. The whole nation is depressed, I hope everything becomes alright but let’s see what happens,” Akram added.
Despite the spot-fixing allegations, Pakistan team management believes that their limited-overs series (5 ODIs and 2 T20s) against England will go ahead as planned next week but Akram believes Shahid Afridi’s men will be up against it.
“Pakistan team will be under scanner and under pressure for the ODIs in England. The Three Lions look a far better side with their confidence sky high at home and this fresh controversy will make matters worse for the returning ODI skipper Shahid Afridi,” Akram concluded

England want Pakistan one-day series to go ahead despite betting storm

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.

Police raided the Pakistan team hotel near Regents Park late on Saturday, confiscating mobile phones belonging to the Pakistan captain, Salman Butt, and the fast bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif as allegations of corruption overshadowed England's victory yesterday by an innings and 225 runs at Lord's, which gave them a 3-1 series win.
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.

Afridi returns to Pakistan betting scam fall-out

LONDON — He may be a proven ball-muncher and pitch scuffer but Shahid Afridi is now charged with leading Pakistan out of the mire of a corruption probe and to victory in one-day series against England.
Last month, Afridi resigned the Test captaincy -- having returned for only one match after a four-year absence from the five-day format -- following Pakistan's 150-run defeat by Australia at Lord's.
He now returns to a team smarting from an even bigger Lord's loss by an innings and 225 runs -- Pakistan's heaviest Test defeat of all-time -- which saw England to a 3-1 win in a four-match series.
But even the scale of that reverse has been overshadowed by allegations in Britain's News of the World.
The Sunday tabloid claimed it paid 150,000 pounds (230,000 dollars, 185,000 euros) to a middle man in return for details about the timing of three Pakistan no-balls against England in the fourth Test at Lord's.
The report alleged Pakistan seamers Mohammad Aamer - the tourists' man of the series - and Mohammad Asif delivered the blatant no-balls at the exact points in the match agreed with the alleged fixer.
News of the World also alleged that Salman Butt, Afridi's successor as Test captain, was implicated in the no-ball probe.
Although a team game, several aspects of cricket -- such as bowling no-balls -- are essentially dependent upon one player and that make it particularly susceptible to so-called 'spot-fixing' where unscrupulous gamblers can rig the result of one incident rather than the more complicated business of 'fixing' a whole match.
Even when he stood down as Test skipper, Afridi made it clear he wanted to lead the one-day side, whom he captained to victory in last year's World Twenty20 in England at next year's World Cup in the sub-continent.
In the immediate aftermath of their crushing Test loss at Lord's, there were doubts as to whether Pakistan's two Twenty20 internationals and five one-dayers against England, which start in Cardiff this coming Sunday, would go ahead.
But Pakistan team manager Yawar Saeed said: "As far as I'm concerned the one-day series is still on.
"We are moving to the west country and we will play all the one-dayers and all the T20s."
Saeed, speaking at a Lord's news conference alongside Butt, told reporters: "As far as the allegations are concerned, I would still call them allegations.
"It's not really for me within 24 hours to pass a judgment on whether they are true or not."
Saeed also confirmed Butt, Aamer and Asif had their mobile telephones taken away by police on Saturday after being spoken to about the allegations.
"The three gentlemen have had their phones confiscated."
Butt though was in defiant mood.
The 25-year-old batsman pointed out how under his leadership Pakistan had bounced back to draw 1-1 against Australia and beaten England at The Oval by four wickets in the third Test .
"Pakistan has won a Test match against Australia for the first time in 15 years and against England for the first time in nine years," Butt said.
"Does that make me resign from this current situation?"
Butt was invited several times to say if the allegations were untrue but he replied: "They include quite a few people and they are still ongoing and we will see what happens."
Afridi, 30 is no stranger to controversy himself, having been one of seven players either banned or fined by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) following the team's winless tour of Australia earlier this year where he was seen biting the ball during a one-day match.
And during England last's tour of Pakistan, in 2005/06, Afridi deliberately scuffed up the pitch in Faisalabad.
Pakistan's next match is a tour game against western county Somerset in Taunton on Thursday

Pakistan team management to decide players' fate on Monday

KARACHI/LONDON: Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ejaz Butt and the team management in England will take a call on Monday on whether to send home the players accused of spot-fixing during the Lords Test and to fly in replacements for them.

Well-placed sources in the Pakistan team said that the captain for the forthcoming one-day series in England, Shahid Afridi would be meeting PCB Chairman Butt and manager Yawar Saeed Monday to discuss the situation arising out of the allegations.
The names of seven players, including Test captain Salman Butt, have come up in the allegations brought up by the English tabloid News of the World, whose sting operation led to the arrest of an alleged fixer.
"Obviously there is plenty of tension in the team and an air of uncertainty. There is a feeling of being betrayed among the players who are not among those accused of wrong doing in the series," one source disclosed.
He said at Monday's meeting it would be decided if the players who are under investigation by the London Metropolitan Police and Scotland Yard for accepting bribes from a Pakistani man arrested in London should be allowed to play in the one-day series or sent back home.
"Atleast six of the players who are under investigation are also part of the one-day squad so a firm decision needs to be made tomorrow," the source said.
He said obviously Afridi would make his position clear on the whole situation to Butt and the team manager.
"The investigations are going on and there is a growing concern even in the board what effect they will have on the other players' preparations for the one-day series. Don't be surprised if a decision is taken to fly in replacement players," the source added.
He said that already the situation was pretty tense in the team as the police had confiscated the mobile phones and passports of the players who are accused of spot-fixing in the Lords Test.
"Ejaz Butt is also under pressure because of this sudden controversy. He is also due to meet with ICC officials to discuss the one-day series".
Other sources said that the home board and ICC had concerns if the presence of players under investigation in the one-day series would dilute the interest of the people in the T20 and one-day series.
Particularly so, when according to revelations made by the arrested middleman, Mazhar Majeed, show that it was decided that Pakistan would lose two one-day matches in the five-match series

Agent Released Over Cricket 'Betting Scam'

Cricket agent Mazhar Majeed has been bailed without charge over an alleged betting scam involving the Pakistan national team.

The 35-year-old was arrested after the News of the World (NOTW) claimed he offered to bribe certain

Pakistani bowlers to manipulate a Test match against England.

England won the Test at Lord's by an innings and 225 runs - Pakistan's heaviest Test defeat - securing a 3-1

 series victory.

Pakistan's captain Salman Butt, bowlers Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif and wicket keeper

Kamran Akmal have all been questioned by Scotland Yard.

In an interview with Sky Sports, Pakistan manager Yawar Saeed said police had also confiscated the four players' mobile phones as part of the investigation.
Scotland Yard said Majeed had been bailed to appear before police at a future date.
The NOTW's report said Amir and Asif had bowled pre-arranged 'no-balls' on the opening day of the Test on Thursday.
A no-ball is an illegal delivery where a bowler's foot crosses the line. A run is awarded to the opposing team and another ball must be bowled.
The paper claims three no-balls were delivered exactly as Majeed described during a secretly filmed meeting on the night before the Test at Lord's.
Video footage apparently shows the cricket agent counting out £150,000 given to him by investigators posing as businessmen, who allegedly told him they wanted to bet on no-balls.
Despite the allegations, 18-year-old Amir, who took five wickets in the second innings in the third test at the Oval and six in England's only innings at Lord's, was named Pakistan's man-of-the-series.
Pakistan also intend to complete their England cricket tour, which includes seven one-day internationals, starting next Sunday.
Pakistan Sports Minister Ijaz Hussain Jakhrani promised life bans for any Pakistan cricketer found guilty of match-fixing.
The nation's President Asif Ali Zardari has called for a detailed report from the Pakistan Cricket Board.
Butt, who assumed the captaincy when Shahid Afridi retired from test cricket after the first test against Australia, said he had no intention of resigning.
"Definitely we have given our best, but the conditions have been difficult for the batsmen and this has been a very inexperienced team," the skipper said.
Majeed's brother and business partner Azhar Majeed said the claims were "laughable", adding: "I thought it was just rubbish."
Mr Saeed told the international cricket website Cricinfo that Mazhar and Azhar Majeed were agents representing a number of Pakistan players.
The Pakistani side has been dogged by match-fixing scandals and allegations of cheating since the 1990s.

In May this year, the International Cricket Council's anti-corruption unit looked at the team's poor performance after being heavily beaten by Australia during a tour of the country.
The Pakistani cricket board banned former captain Younus Khan and tour captain Mohammad Yousuf for an indefinite period.
Former captain Shoaib Malik and Rana Naved ul Hasan were banned for one year and fined heavily.