Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir in Dubai for appeal

Salman Butt and Mohammad Amir arrived in Dubai on Friday to appeal against their provisional suspensions for alleged involvement in spot-fixing. The pair left Lahore accompanied by their lawyers and will now appear at a hearing over Saturday and Sunday with Michael Beloff, the chairman of the ICC's code of conduct commission.

Butt and Amir, along with Mohammad Asif, were suspended by the ICC on September 2, after being charged with various offences under Article 2 of the ICC's anti-corruption code; Asif has since withdrawn his appeal. The suspensions came after the News of the World tabloid claimed to have exposed a scam in which deliberate, planned no-balls would be bowled by Amir and Asif during the Lord's Test against England, with the involvement of Butt, who was then captain.

The ICC had initially wanted the PCB to take action against their own players, but were compelled to step in eventually after Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, indicated that the trio was available for selection for the ODI series that followed. Eventually, the players "voluntarily" withdrew from that series and the ICC handed out notices and suspended them the same day.

The hearings will only concern themselves with the matter of the provisional suspensions and whether or not the ICC followed the correct procedures in taking that action. The matter of the players' innocence or guilt and the actual charges against them will not be heard. Thus, even if the suspensions are lifted and the players allowed to return to cricket, a full hearing into the case will still take place later to determine their innocence or guilt in the matter. This is thought to be one of the reasons why Asif withdrew his appeal; unlike Amir and Butt, even if his suspension is lifted, he would not have been able to play for Pakistan immediately because he is barred - for a drug-related offence - from entering the UAE, where Pakistan's current series against South Africa is taking place.

The hearing is expected to be a detailed one where the players and their lawyers will be allowed the opportunity to build their cases. The ICC lawyers will be the only other people inside the hearing and though there is expected to be evidence from the ACSU placed in front of Beloff, he is expected to only listen to the arguments of the players and not argue or discuss their innocence or guilt.

The players cannot appeal against the decision of these hearings. The next step, irrespective of the outcome here, will be the full hearing before the independent tribunal. The date of that is not yet decided and may well depend on the outcome of the ongoing police investigation over the matter in the UK, where the case against the players is with the Crown Prosecution Service.

Of the three, Butt has been increasingly vocal over the last few weeks, making a number of public statements expressing confidence that his suspension will be lifted and that he will eventually be cleared. Before leaving early on Friday morning, similar sentiments were expressed once again. "Either you are guilty or you are not, and I think I am not guilty and I am sure about it," he told reporters at the airport.

He will be represented in Dubai by his lawyer Aftab Gul, a former Test cricketer, and Khalid Ranjha, a former law minister. Both share the confidence of their client. "We are going for justice in their court," Gul said. "We can't pre-empt what decision they give, it's their discretion, but our case is very good. There is no strong evidence against Salman Butt on the basis of which we can say that he should remain suspended."

Amir, who has not made a statement throughout this time, said on departure that he hoped he could return to the side. He will be represented by Shahid Karim, the lawyer who defended Asif in a doping case in October 2006.

Though two full days have been set aside for the hearings it is not certain that it will take that much time to reach a judgment. The two days were scheduled keeping in mind that there were three players initially appealing. "It will be eight hours hearing daily, but I don't think it's a 16 hours case," Gul said.

A swift return for Butt and Amir could be on the cards should a favourable decision be reached. Mohsin Khan, Pakistan's chief selector, told Dawn that he would seek a no-objection certificate from the PCB immediately should they be cleared to play by the ICC

Afridi urges Pakistan to fightback

Shahid Afridi is targeting a major turnaround when his side begins their five-match ODI series against SA on Friday.

The hosts were woeful during the two Twenty20s in Abu Dhabi, losing both games handsomely with their batting particularly poor against a well-drilled Proteas outfit.
However, they are likely to be bolstered by the return of former captain Younus Khan for the games, being played in the United Arab Emirates because of security concerns in the Asian country.
"I am sure we can do far better in the ODIs, since I believe that we have players who have good temperament and can play the 50 overs comfortably," the Pakistan limited-overs skipper said.
They managed below-par scores of 119 and 120 in the 20-over games and their bowlers, who faced an
uphill battle, still managed to fight on.
Afridi continued: "We needed good starts but that didn't come in both the matches.
"My own performance was not up to the mark so we have to sit down and plan to improve our batting, which is struggling."
The Pakistanis have endured a turbulent few months both on and off the field, with the biggest issue being the 'spot-fixing' allegations that they became embroiled in on their tour to England.
The consequences of that mean they are without their two premier pacemen - Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir - as well as Salman Butt, all of whom have been suspended over the matter.
But Afridi has urged his team-mates not to get distracted.
He added: "Yes, the players are under pressure, but we have to put that aside and concentrate and keep ourselves focused."
South Africa are set to welcome back key pair Jacques Kallis and Dale Steyn after their recent injuries.
They have not been missed, though, with youngsters Colin Ingram, David Miller and Rusty Theron all performing admirably in their absence.
Like Afridi, South Africa's Twenty20 captain Johan Botha also expects an improved showing from the hosts in the series.
He said: "Pakistan are a very good team and they can bounce back in the ODIs.
"We will keep the momentum going and ensure that we keep working hard and try to win as many as matches possible."

36% Pakistanis support Misbahul Haque as test captain

Almost 36% Pakistanis support Misbahul Haq as the test cricket team captain while 22% oppose it, said the result of a survey conducted by Gilani Research-Gallup Pakistan.
Among those who are against this decision believe Mohammed Yousuf (27%), Younus Khan (26%) and Shahid Afridi (19%) to be better choices.
In the survey, a nationally representative sample of men and women from across the country were asked the following question:

Recently Pakistan Cricket Board has appointed Misbah ul Haq as the captain for Pakistan Test Series. Do you believe that Pakistan Cricket Board has made the right decision or not?

Thirty six percent (36%) favoured this decision as opposed to 20% who were against it while 44% were unsure and said they didn’t know.

NOTW sting not reliable - Salman Butt

Salman Butt, the former Pakistan captain, has questioned the reliability of the News of the World sting, claiming Mazhar Majeed, an agent who handled his marketing and promotions, and features in the video, could have made exaggerated claims "to show his authority".

Butt, along with fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, has been provisionally suspended by the ICC for his alleged involvement in the spot-fixing controversy. His appeal will be heard in Dubai on October 30 and 31.

"I do not want to comment on The News of the World because everybody knows what kind of paper it is," Butt told Associated Press. "Everybody knows about its reputation across the world."Butt said that Majeed "must have made lots of claims ... clearly exaggerating things to show his authority."

"I think he might have said a lot of things in that video because it was edited. So nobody knows what has gone wrong in that video."

Butt defended, however, the association he shared with Majeed before the allegations surfaced. "He (Majeed) is not somebody who is an agent for me because he has been there even before I was (playing international cricket). These are the people who deal with the marketing side of players and the promotional stuff and they also make money out of it. This is what is being done in the sporting arena around the world and this is not something that came up with Salman Butt."

At the time, Butt said, there was no relevant PCB code regarding player agents. "It is not part of PCB code (of conduct) that you have to tell them about the agents who work for the players' marketing and the promotion stuff." But in the aftermath of the controversy, the PCB issued instructions to players, stipulating that all their agents will have to approved by the board, failing which the player will be ineligible for selection.

Butt led Pakistan in the four-Test series against England and, as he has said several times now, remains confident that he will be cleared and might even return to lead the national team. "I hope the captaincy will come again some day. I cannot grab it. God gave me one chance and I hope I will get the other chance as well. I want to be remembered as a player who won games for Pakistan."

Afridi laments poor batting

Shahid Afridi has criticised his batsmen, himself included, following Pakistan's 0-2 defeat in the Twenty20 series against South Africa in Abu Dhabi.

Pakistan only managed 119 and 120 in their two innings, scores that were overhauled with little difficulty by South Africa.

Afridi made 25 and 3 while the others, with the exception of Misbah-ul-Haq who is making a comeback in international cricket, struggled.

"Our batting was a major let down.

None of them did well," Afridi said after the second game, which South Africa won by six wickets.

"My performance was crucial for the team and I also failed to deliver.

"But I am sure we can do far better in the ODIs, since I believe that we have players who have good temperament and can play the 50 overs comfortably." There were encouraging signs in the bowling department, with the spinners proving economical.

Mohammad Hafeez and Afridi conceded just 32 runs between them in eight overs in the second game while offspinner Saeed Ajmal conceded 18 in his four-over spell in the first.

"Our bowlers really bowled well.
The conditions suited the batsmen, but despite that, our bowlers stuck to a good line and bowled brilliantly," Afridi said.
Pakistan cricket, in the aftermath of the spot-fixing controversy, is going through troubled times and Afridi admitted there was pressure on players.
"Yes the players are under pressure, but we have to put that aside and concentrate and keep ourselves focused," he said.
Johan Botha, the South Africa captain, was confident of success in the ODI series that begins on Friday.
"Pakistan is a very good team and they can bounce back in the ODIs.
We will keep the momentum going and ensure that we keep working hard and try to win as many as matches possible."