Judgment day for suspended trio in Pakistan spot-fixing inquiry as conspiracy theories are dispelled

Waiting: Pakistan cricketers Mohammad Amir (left), Salman Butt (right) and Mohammad Asif will learn in Qatar on Saturday the verdict of an ICC inquiry into spot-fixingPhoto: GETTY IMAGES
By Scyld Berry, in Doha8:14PM GMT 04 Feb 2011

Scyld's Twitter

There, on the 12th floor of the Qatar Finance Centre, the ICC tribunal of three judges is expected to hear an application by the lawyers representing former captain Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir to defer their verdict. The application could be dismissed; if so, the players will be given the verdict then, after discussions with all parties, their penalties if guilty.
Outside the cylindrical and dark-glass skyscraper, the Gulf is shallow, but the waters in which the three Pakistan players find themselves are deep. And they became deeper on Friday when the Crown Prosecution Service announced that it would be pressing criminal charges against the three players, along with the agent, Mazher Majeed, in mid-March.
The timing less than 24 hours before the ICC verdict was no coincidence. If the CPS had waited until after Saturday's verdict by the games governing body, the evidence would have come into the public domain worldwide, and the players would not have been assured a fair trial.
For the ICC, the news of the CPS prosecution, while unexpected, came as a relief and justification. No longer can the conspiracy theorists a line-up headed last year by the Pakistan High Commissioner to London argue that the case was dreamt up by the ICC, or by the Indian politicians who have an inordinate say in its affairs.
The evidence, assembled by the Metropolitan Police and the CPS, is clearly substantial.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Huge win for Punya Nagri in inter-media T20 tournament

NAGPUR: Punya Nagari recorded a thumping 127-run win over Pancan in the UCN T20 inter-media cricket tournament at Central Railway ground, Ajni, on Wednesday. In another match, Lokmat defeated Deshonnati by 38 runs. Brief scores: Lokmat: 160 in 19.5 overs (Gitesh Wanjari 35*, Sharad Mishra 29; Manish 3-21, Shahagir Sheikh 2-29) beat Deshonnati: 121 in 17.1 overs (Shahagir Sheikh 46; Sachin Rahangdale 3-20, Nitin Patariya 3-19) by 38 runs. Punya Nagri: 273-5 in 20 overs (Sunil Thavkar 78, Vaibhav Sonwane 57, Pankaj Pande 38; Avishkar Deshmukh 1-45) beat Pancan: 146-5 in 20 overs (Avishkar Deshmukh 59, Ravikant Sane 47; Umesh Tekade 1-20, Pankaj Pande 1-24, Manoj Zariya 1-10) by 127 runs. Man-of-the-match: Sunil Thavkar.
Keep reading

The Ashes: Australia women v England women, first Test, day one report

Image
Steaming in: Rene Farrell caused England's batters all sorts of problems Photo: GETTY IMAGES By Telegraph staff and agencies 11:22AM GMT 22 Jan 2011 Comments A maiden Ashes Test century from captain Charlotte Edwards helped England 's women to a recovery of sorts in Sydney, as they ended the first day of the first Test on 181 for eight. Edwards occupied the crease for over five hours on her way to an unbeaten 103, after her decision to bat after winning the toss had initially backfired. A devastating new-ball spell from Ellyse Perry saw Heather Knight and Caroline Atkins removed as England slipped to seven for two, with Lydia Greenway not far behind them as she was snared by Rene Farrell. But Edwards dropped anchor to halt Australia's charge and her partnership of 65 with Jenny Gunn was the biggest of the day. Gunn eventually fell to Rachael Haynes for 33, leaving Edwards to accelerate her scoring further as the tail fell around her.
Keep reading

Will Sourav Ganguly play for Kochi?

KOLKATA: Eleven days after the auctioneer brought down his hammer for the last time at IPL players' auction in Bangalore, a ray of hope has emerged for Sourav Ganguly, who was ignored by all the 10 franchises. Team Kochi, which will be making its IPL debut in the ensuing T20 event, have belatedly realised their folly and are keen to take Ganguly on board. The Kochi management, who clearly showed no aptitude for team composition and failed to net a single capped Indian batsman other than VVS Laxman, have approached the Governing Council to allow them to sign the former India captain. However, they can do so only if the other nine franchises raise no objection to this out-of-auction deal. The BCCI, on its part, has no objection. "If the franchises have no objection, why should we stand in any player's way to play in the IPL? However, there is no question of bending the rule or making an exception," said a Governing Council member. IPL rules state that capped pla
Keep reading