ICC defers verdict on spot-fixing till Feb 5

ICC defers verdict on spot-fixing till Feb 5

Doha: Tainted Pakistani cricketers Salman Butt, Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif will have to wait for some more days to learn their fate after ICC's anti-corruption tribunal today deferred its verdict on the spot-fixing row till February 5, according to reports.

The ICC was expected to come out with its verdict today after it's three-man independent tribunal led by the code of conduct commissioner Michael Beloff of England, and aided by Justice Albie Sachs from South Africa and Kenyan Sharad Rao heard all the parties behind closed doors at the Qatar Financial Centre since January 6.

However, according to Sky Sports, the tribunal had deferred their judgement after Aamer's lawyer Shahid Karim requested the panel to take some more time to study the case before announcing it's verdict.

Karim had later told a television channel that he has indeed asked the tribunal not to rush with it's decision.

"We have requested the judges to look at the case carefully and with due consideration before they announce the verdict," Karim said.

"This is up to them, and if they have looked at it with thought and consideration, then after we finish they'll tell us if the verdict is announced today or at a later date.

"I am satisfied that the hearing has been very good and impartial, and I can say from our point of view at least we are hopeful. The onus is now on the judges," he said.

The tainted trio were charged of spot-fixing during Pakistan's tour of England last year. It is alleged that players conspired in bowling deliberate no-balls during a Test at Lord's, a claim which they all deny.

The three were provisionally suspended by the ICC from all forms of cricket in September last year, with players facing a minimum five-year ban and maximum life ban if found guilty.

Before going for today's hearing, Aamer said the episode has been one of the most difficult phases of his life but was confident of coming out clean.

"When the nation's prayers are with you, you don't feel so scared and there is hope. It's been difficult to sleep over the last few nights but my eyes are open now and when good news comes I will hopefully be able to close them properly," he told reporters.

"We are satisfied with how things have gone, and my family's prayers are also with me. I'm feeling good and am hoping for some good news," he added.

Source: PTI

Fate of tainted trio to be sealed any moment

ICC's investigation into the spot-fixing charges against the tainted cricketers of Pakistan is now in its final stages and sources indicate results could be out as early as the middle of this week

Karachi: Suspended Pakistan pacer Muhammad Aamir was questioned and cross-examined on the fourth day of the International Cricket Council anti-corruption tribunal hearing in Doha. According to reports, the 18-year-old Aamir was questioned by one of the ICC lawyers and also by the lawyers for the two other suspended Pakistani players, Salman Butt and Muhammad Asif.

Aamir`s questioning is likely to continue for some more time after which it would be the turn of Asif. "Butt`s questioning has ended and he has come in for lot of grilling from not only the ICC lawyers but also from the legal representatives of Aamir and Asif," one source aware of the hearing developments said.

"Yes it was a tough cross-examination for Salman Butt," the source said. Indications are that both Aamir and Asif have adopted the stance at the hearing that they followed their captain`s orders in the fourth Test against England at Lords when cross examined by the ICC lawyers about the video evidence of them pre-planned no-balls.
The suspended trio is facing charges of having violated the ICC anti-corruption and security unit clauses and indulging in spot-fixing. Butt is under the greatest pressure in the hearing as he was the captain of the Pakistan Test team in England when the spot-fixing scandal broke out after Mazhar Majeed, his agent cum alleged bookmaker was caught on camera by the `News of the World` tabloid claiming he could orchestrate spot-fixing within the Pakistan side.

Sources in the Pakistan cricket Board said that the greatest concern was for Aamir who is a prodigious talent to come about in Pakistan cricket. "The feeling is that even if Aamir gets a two-year ban it would be mean he would be available for Pakistan at the relatively young age of 20 as his sentence should start from the time the ICC provisionally suspended the trio on September 2 last year," another source said.  

'They went out of their way to please Majeed'

Meanwhile, Major (retd) Khawaja Javed Najam, former security manager of the Pakistan cricket team revealed details of how Salman Butt and Kamran Akmal violated team regulations to entertain bookmaker Mazhar Majeed in their hotel room during the tour of England last summer. As the 6-day hearing of the ICC's anti-corruption tribunal entered its closing stages, Najam in his statement said the players went out of their way to maintain links with the Majeed brothers - Mazhar and Azhar.

Interestingly, Najam also revealed that he caught Butt and Kamran holding a meeting with Azhar in Wahab Riaz's room, the player who was also questioned by the Scotland Yard after the 'News of the World' first broke stories about Pakistan players' involvement in spot-fixing last August. He also mentioned that a national selector was also present in the room at that time in England

Wahab was also shown in a video giving his jacket to Mazhar outside a restaurant in London and then taking it back. Mazhar in his statement to the undercover reporter of the 'News of the World' claimed that the jacket was exchanged because he put 10,000 pounds into it and passed it on to Wahab as part payment for the spot-fixing exercise during the fourth Test at Lord's.

Najam stepped down as security manager before the team left for New Zealand citing issues with some board officials. Testifying before the ICC tribunal, which is hearing the spot-fixing charges against Butt, Mohammad Aamir and Mohammad Asif, Najam said that he had suspected the constant presence of the Majeed brothers with the Pakistan team on different tours.

Najam also confirmed that despite repeated warnings, some of the players refused to distance themselves from the Majeed brothers. "After being spotted in London, the brothers were told to leave the hotel room in 30 seconds. The Majeed brothers were seen during the World T20 in the West Indies and the players were told to stay away from them," Najam said.

"When I saw Azhar in Riaz's room in London, I asked the fast bowler to bring him out. Kamran Akmal and Salman Butt were also sitting with them. When Azhar came out, one of the national team selectors also accompanied him and said he wanted match tickets from Riaz."

Najam said that the selector saw Azhar out of the hotel while Salman and Akmal apologised for the breach. Najam also said that he was present when the police raided Butt's room and found valuables worth Rs 5.9 million. While £250 were said to be given to him by his agent, Butt said that the rest of the stuff - including two expensive watches - was part of his sister's dowry.

"His body language was very tense and he was speaking very loudly [when he was being questioned]," Najam said.
Source: Agencies