More problems in store for Butt

There seems to be no end to Salman Butt's woes with barrister Aitzaz Ahsan now confirming that his law firm is not representing the suspended Pakistan Test captain in the spot-fixing case.

Ahsan, one of the leading names in Pakistan's political and legal circles, said that he was never personally involved with Butt's case or acted as his representative."Shahid Saeed at Aitzaz and associates law firm was representing Salman Butt but now he is no longer associated with the case or the ICC hearing that will be held in January in Doha," Ahsan said.

Ahsan added that only Yasin Patel, a lawyer based in London, was acting on behalf of Butt in the spot-fixing case.

"Shahid Saeed had prepared the reply to the ICC and he wrote down all relevant issues but now he is not associated with this case," Ahsan said.

Two other prominent lawyers, Khalid Ranjha -- a former attorney general of Pakistan -- and Aftab Gul, have also made it clear that they were no longer representing Butt. The two had attended the appeals hearing in October in Dubai where the appeals of Butt and Mohammad Aamir against their suspensions were rejected by the ICC tribunal head, Michael Beloff.

Beloff on Wednesday rejected Butt's application for an adjournment of the full hearing into the spot-fixing charges against himself, Aamir and Mohammad Asif due to be held next month.

Sources close to Butt said that one of the main reasons senior lawyers have distanced themselves from Butt was due to his "non-serious" attitude.

"Aitzaz and associates, in fact, made it clear that they were not interested in defending the former captain as he himself had a non-serious attitude towards the case," a source said.

"So basically now it is just Yasin Patel who is representing Butt who apparently has accepted his fate at the full hearing," the source added.

Former Pakistan cricketers push for players association

The death of 38-year-old first-class cricketer Aamer Bashir, after a long-running battle against cancer, has led to a call from former Pakistan players Ramiz Raja, Rashid Latif and Abdul Qadir for the establishment of a players association in the country.

"I think the way, and the conditions in which Aamer Bashir passed away are sad and there are many other players facing similar financial problems," Ramiz told PTI. "The formation of the players association will mean they can work for the welfare of players from one common platform."

Leading cricketers like Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan and Basit Ali worked hard to ensure Bashir received proper medical treatment, in addition to monetary assistance from the board. Ramiz asked for a more organised set-up to help such cricketers, and made it clear that forming a players association did not mean the players wanted to confront the board's authority.

"It should not be viewed that way [as a threat to the board]," he said. "If we have a proper association it can work for the welfare of players and also educate them on how to handle things and behave while playing for Pakistan."

"When you are fighting with a terminal illness having financial issues plays a big role in only worsening the disease," Latif, who had campaigned to raise funds for Bashir, said. Latif also noted that the board had opposed earlier efforts to set up a players body, a point that Qadir agreed with.

"Even if the board does not give us permission we can easily go to court and get permission because I think it is the right of cricketers to have a representative body in the country it is long overdue," Qadir said. "I just feel in Pakistan cricket, where there are so many disputes and controversies, a players association can play a very productive and positive role."

Pakistan's poor start followed by extra practice

Pakistan coach Waqar Younis admitted his team started its tour of New Zealand "badly" after they lost to Auckland by five wickets in a Twenty20 friendly yesterday.

Hard on the heels of their scandalous tour of England, Pakistan could muster only 91 in their first bat of the tour, a target Auckland gobbled up in 13.2 overs.

Younis put on a brave face when he fronted the press while his players filtered out of their dressing room on to Colin Maiden Park for extra practice.

"I'm not going to moan about it," he said. "We have done badly. The match had a county cricket feel to it [given the setting].

"We are keen to do well in the internationals [as opposed to warmup games]. But we need to improve."

That much is obvious before Pakistan play New Zealand in the first of three Twenty20 internationals at Eden Park on Boxing Day.

If Pakistan didn't run up the white flag, they came dangerously close to doing so.

One of the few bright lights was the form of veteran paceman Shoaib Akhtar, who looked sharp at the bowling crease.

The 35-year-old quick clean-bowled former Black Cap Lou Vincent, who said: "I faced him a few years ago and he was definitely quicker then but he is still fast and I think he was holding back a bit today too. He will be a handful for the Kiwi boys."

Even though Auckland made hard work of their run chase – Martin Guptill top-scored with an unbeaten 28 off 30 deliveries – and accepting the fact abbreviated cricket does create one-sided matches, this was an extremely tame performance by Pakistan.

Vincent predicted it would be a long tour for the visitors. "Pakistan will improve, but they will need to."

An Independent tribunal would have been better says Mohammad Amir’s Lawyer

Mohammad Amir’s lawyer, Shahid Karim has expressed his desire to have had an opportunity to defend his client (Amir) in front of an independent tribunal instead of International Cricket Council’s (ICC) three member panel which consists of Michael Beloff QC, Albie Sachs and Sharad Rao. Three Pakistani players, Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif are currently suspended and awaiting trial on charges of being involved in spot fixing.

Karim said, “Looking at the case from a legalistic point of view, from the point of view of the case being presented to an independent and unbiased tribunal, then I think he has a fair chance of coming out clean, however the situation is an odd one. Ideally we would have liked the tribunal to be completely independent of the ICC, but at this point in time I have to have full faith in the tribunal."

The lawyers of two out of the three players (Salman Butt and Mohammad Amir) have expressed their mistrust on the three-member panel because last month a panel headed by Michael Beloff rejected Butt’s and Amir’s appeal against their preliminary suspension.

This verdict drew a strong criticism from the players and their lawyers, who saw this verdict by Beloff as biased and unjustified, and now the presence of Beloff in the panel that will be hearing the suspended trio’s case has made it controversial.

The lawyers of the three players have clearly been unsatisfied with the members of this panel and there is a strong belief that the players will not have a fair chance to clear their names in front of the tribune, which is all set to convene next month from 6^th to 11^th January in Doha, Qatar.

Amir’s lawyer, while expressing his views about the members of the panel said, “We raised a slight objection to Michael Beloff QC chairing the hearing in Doha, as he had heard the case in the provisional hearing, but he chose not to remove himself, however, my training as a lawyer requires me to have full faith in the forthcoming tribunal and I should expect a fair hearing. Although the members of the three-man tribunal are already part of the anti-corruption commission which is a permanent body in the code of the ICC and are nominated by the ICC, and the tribunal members have been picked out of those members, I still think that I have faith in their independence and impartiality."

The whole tribunal has struck controversy, which may have an adverse effect on the outcome of the hearing. The ICC should pay heed to the rising concerns of the players and their lawyers and should try to remove the mistrust between them and the ICC tribunal so that the final judgment of the hearing is acceptable to all concerned parties.

Shoaib Malik and Kamran Akmal rubbish PCB reports

Veteran Pakistan batsman Shoaib Malik and wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal have rubbished reports of the PCB that had stated that they were asked to submit details of their assets and bank accounts ahead clearing them for inclusion into the preliminary squad of the World Cup. The two players have categorically said that they have not been asked for their personal details regarding movable and immovable assets along with the details of their personal bank accounts.

The PCB had earlier claimed that they were not satisfied with the documents of these two players. The cricketers refuted the claims stating they never even gave any documents.

"When the board has not asked us for anything so where does the question of us not satisfying them arise. I have never done anything in my career that has anything to do with corruption, I will be back in the team," Shoaib Malik told a local newspaper from Dubai.

The PCB formulised new rules and procedures under the ICC code of conduct regulations which require players to submit details of their assets and personal accounts. The media had reported that the integrity committee of the PCB was unhappy with the documents that had been submitted by the payers since they were incomplete and not sufficient.

The legal advisor for the PCB Taffazul Rizvi failed to comment on the workings of the integrity committee.

However reliable sources within the board have confirmed that the integrity committee had indeed asked for the details of the payers, in lieu of which leg spinner Danish Kaneria already submitted details and documents. Therefore according to the source it was hard to understand why Kamran Akmal and Shoaib Malik were in a state of denial.

PCB selectors were interested in selecting the three players for the World cup however having not been cleared by the integrity committee the PCB has decided not to clear the players until they have been cleared of any wrong doings.

"That is the only reason the board has got an extension until January 5 from the ICC to announce its World Cup squad whereas other countries have already announced their probables including top teams like India, South Africa, Sri Lanka, England and Australia," the source said.

Kamran Akmal was reportedly upset over media channels claiming that he had four properties in Lahore in the name of his father. Malik meanwhile said, that he had nothing to hide and was in form hoping that he would be able to contribute to the national team in the World Cup.