2010 Pakistan cricket spot-fixing controversy
Encyclopedia
The Pakistan cricket spot-fixing scandal centres on members of Pakistan
's Cricket team being convicted of taking bribes from a bookmaker, Mazhar Majeed
, to under-perform deliberately at certain times in the 4th Test match at Lord's Cricket Ground
, London, in 2010
.
Undercover reporters from News of the World
, secretly videotaped Mazhar Majeed accepting money and informing the reporters that fast bowlers Asif and Amir would deliberately bowl no ball
s at specific points in an over. This information could be used by gamblers to place bets with inside information (i.e. spot-fixing
). In response to these allegations, Scotland Yard
arrested Majeed on the charge of match fixing
. The International Cricket Council
(ICC) banned three players—Salman Butt
, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir—for terms of between 5 and 10 years. In November 2011, Butt and Asif were found guilty by a London court on criminal charges relating to spot-fixing. Amir and Majeed had entered guilty pleas on the same charges. All four were given prison sentences, ranging from six months to 32 months.
's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit served notices to two unnamed Pakistani players seeking information into allegations of spot and match fixing. These notices were sent out to the players following Pakistan's first 2010 Test Match against England, at Nottingham. The notices informed the players that the ACSU was seeking certain information and gave the pair 14 days to respond.
established contact with Mazhar Majeed, a sports agent who was suspected of involvement in match-fixing. In the video posted by News of the World, Majeed, counting out the bribe money, predicted that Amir would be Pakistan's bowler for the third over
in the fourth test at Lords, and that the first ball of the over would be a no-ball delivery. Amir did bowl the third over, and on his first delivery from the over, bowled a no-ball delivery. Commentary described the delivery as an "enormous no-ball, good half a metre over the line". Majeed also predicted that the sixth delivery of the tenth over would be a no-ball, and that ball, delivered by Asif, was also a no-ball delivery.
Yawar Saeed
, the Pakistan team manager, declined to call for the resignation of Salman Butt
, implicated in the scandal. PCB president Ijaz Butt
maintained that the players were innocent. At the same time, former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif
suggested that the spot-fixing controversy might be a set-up and that the leaked video contained a certain number of ambiguities. Iqbal Mohammad Ali
, a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan
and chairman of the standing committee on sports, called for the removal of the players in question from the team.
Former ICC president Ehsan Mani
expressed shock at the revelations and criticised the Pakistan Cricket Board
.
, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were each named in the News of the World investigation. All three players maintained their innocence of the charges levelled against them, but were suspended pending an investigation by the International Cricket Council
, which determined that they "had an arguable case to answer", on 4 September 2010.
Wajid Shamsul Hasan
, the Pakistani High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, claimed that the players had been "set up" and were innocent of the charges. He condemned the ICC decision.
Butt subsequently filed an appeal to have his suspension lifted. Asif and Amir and followed suit and the ICC announced that a hearing would be held in Qatar on 30 and 31 October. The interior ministry announced that the passport of the three cricketers had been given back to them so that they can travel to Qatar. Seven days before the appeal began Mohammad Asif announced that he had withdrawn his appeal because he wanted to understand the charges against him. Butt and Amir announced that their appeals were to continue. The ICC moved the hearing to the UAE. Salman Butt announced that he hoped the appeals would be completed quickly so that he could make a swift return to international cricket and participate in the series against South Africa in October 2010. Their initial appeal against the suspension was rejected on 31 October 2010. Butt and Amir hit out at the ICC saying that, although the ruling went against them, they weren't informed of the reasons for the decision.
A tribunal to decide the fates of the players was held in January 2011 The panel comprised Michael Beloff
, Albie Sachs
and Sharad Rao – all with previous experience in sporting trials. Butt and Amir objected to the selection of Beloff, contending that, as the head of the ICC disciplinary committee, he had a conflict of interest in favour the ICC over the three cricketers. This was shown, they claimed, when he voted against lifting their suspensions. Butt's lawyer, Aftab Gul, withdrew from the case because he doubted his client would receive justice. The ICC also said that because the story was broken by News of the World, its reporters would feature in the case. A decision was deferred to 5 February 2011.
On 5 February 2011, it was announced that the ICC had banned all three players—Butt for ten years, of which five were suspended, Asif for seven years, of which two were suspended, and Amir for five years. The suspension of sentences for Butt and Asif were conditional on each "[committing] no further breach of the code and...[participating] under the auspices of the Pakistan Cricket Board in a programme of anti-corruption education". All three players were allowed to file an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport
.
In response to the announcement, The Independent
said that "the game was at last standing up to its responsibilities," while The Guardian
claimed that "the urgency to deliver a fierce deterrent to players everywhere has outweighed the need to make the punishment fit the crime."
for them to decide whether to charge the players or not. On 5 November 2010 Scotland Yard announced that they had passed on the second file of fixing evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service. This moved the case one step closer to the courts.
On 1 November 2011, at Southwark
Crown Court, Majeed, Asif, Amir and Butt were found guilty of conspiracy to cheat at gambling and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments. Majeed and Amir were convicted following guilty pleas. The judge, Jeremy Cooke, rejected a plea in mitigation from Amir that he had been involved in spot-fixing on only one occasion, on the grounds that the contents of text messages submitted as evidence suggested otherwise.
The convictions were broadly accepted and welcomed within the world of cricket. Former Pakistan captain Aamer Sohail
spoke of a "shameful" day for Pakistani cricket, adding "this is what happens when you don't react quickly enough to fight corruption". Former Pakistan Cricket Board
chair Khalid Mehmood described the case as "an example for cricket in the future".
On 3 November 2011, jail terms were handed down of 30 months for Butt, one year for Asif, six months for Amir and two years eight months for Majeed.
Then-Australia captain Ricky Ponting
expressed concern over the addition of an Australian victory against Pakistan to a list of more than 80 previous matches under investigation. Australia won the match, despite a large first-innings deficit.
Croydon Athletic F.C.
was bought in 2008 by Mazhar Majeed. The football club was investigated by HM Revenues and Customs due to allegations that Majeed had been using the club for money-laundering purposes. Majeed had been recorded by an undercover journalist stating that that was the only reason he had bought the club. This led to the manager and his assistant leaving the club after a match on 4 September 2010. Less than a month later on 2 October, the club's chairman David Le Cluse was found dead in a garage in Sutton
with a bullet wound to his head; his death is currently under investigation by police.
, the titular patron of the Pakistan Cricket Board, told PCB chairman Ijaz Butt to keep him fully informed of developments. Haroon Akhtar, member of the Senate of Pakistan
, blamed the PCB for the controversy.
began to emerge. One test under investigation was a defeat against Australia in January 2010 when Pakistan were leading in a comfortable position but Kamran Akmal
dropped three catches and missed an easy run-out of Michael Hussey
who was on 33. Hussey went on to score 134 not out. The ICC later cleared the Sydney test or didn't investigate it further due to lack of evidence.
After the spot-fixing scandal emerged Pakistan registered a victory against England in the third ODI and the ICC announced the match was under investigation due to suspicious behaviour. The ICC carried out a thorough investigation and the Pakistani team and players were given the all-clear to continue playing. Speculation about fixing in the third-ODI ended as the investigation closed.
denied the allegations published in News of the World that he had turned down a bookmaker's offer of £100,000 to help fix a Test. Hameed had allegedly told the newspaper that "almost every match" was fixed and criticised the players involved. Yasir Hameed denied the allegations, saying that he thought he was talking to a potential sponsor, and only stated what he read on the news. In November 2010, wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider
left the Pakistani cricket team before their fifth and decisive one-day game against South Africa, and flew from Dubai
(where the series was being held) to London's Heathrow Airport. Haider asked for asylum and claimed that he had been threatened to throw the game. Haider's Pakistani stipend was suspended by the Pakistani Cricket Board. The board expressed disappointment that Haider had left the team and flown to London instead of reporting the threats to the PCB and the ICC's anti-corruption unit.
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
's Cricket team being convicted of taking bribes from a bookmaker, Mazhar Majeed
Mazhar Majeed
Mazhar Majeed is a British Pakistani sporting agent and bookmaker who came under police investigation in 2010 following reports of cricket 'match fixing' after a News of the World sting operation. On Saturday August 28, 2010, he was arrested by the Scotland Yard for allegedly fixing a Test match...
, to under-perform deliberately at certain times in the 4th Test match at Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
, London, in 2010
Pakistani cricket team in England in 2010
The Pakistan cricket team toured England from 29 July to 22 September 2010. The tour consisted of four Tests, two Twenty20s and five One Day Internationals .-1st Test:-2nd Test:-3rd Test:-4th Test:...
.
Undercover reporters from News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
, secretly videotaped Mazhar Majeed accepting money and informing the reporters that fast bowlers Asif and Amir would deliberately bowl no ball
No ball
In the sport of cricket a no ball is a penalty against the fielding team, usually as a result of an illegal delivery by the bowler. The delivery of a no ball results in one run to be added to the batting team's score, and an additional ball must be bowled...
s at specific points in an over. This information could be used by gamblers to place bets with inside information (i.e. spot-fixing
Spot-fixing
Spot-fixing refers to illegal activity in a sport where a specific part of a game is fixed. Examples include something as minor as timing a no ball or wide delivery in cricket or timing the first throw-in or corner in association football. Spot-fixing attempts to defraud bookmakers illegally by...
). In response to these allegations, Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
arrested Majeed on the charge of match fixing
Match fixing
In organised sports, match fixing, game fixing, race fixing, or sports fixing occurs as a match is played to a completely or partially pre-determined result, violating the rules of the game and often the law. Where the sporting competition in question is a race then the incident is referred to as...
. The International Cricket Council
International Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council is the international governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from England, Australia and South Africa, renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989.The...
(ICC) banned three players—Salman Butt
Salman Butt
Salman Butt is a former Pakistani cricketer who was a regular Test and ODI left-handed opening batsman. He made his Test debut on 3 September 2003 in the third Test against Bangladesh, and a year later made his ODI debut against West Indies on 22 September 2004. He was appointed captain of the...
, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir—for terms of between 5 and 10 years. In November 2011, Butt and Asif were found guilty by a London court on criminal charges relating to spot-fixing. Amir and Majeed had entered guilty pleas on the same charges. All four were given prison sentences, ranging from six months to 32 months.
Prior concerns about corruption
In July 2010, the International Cricket CouncilInternational Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council is the international governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from England, Australia and South Africa, renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989.The...
's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit served notices to two unnamed Pakistani players seeking information into allegations of spot and match fixing. These notices were sent out to the players following Pakistan's first 2010 Test Match against England, at Nottingham. The notices informed the players that the ACSU was seeking certain information and gave the pair 14 days to respond.
Sting operation
In August 2010, reporters from News of the WorldNews of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
established contact with Mazhar Majeed, a sports agent who was suspected of involvement in match-fixing. In the video posted by News of the World, Majeed, counting out the bribe money, predicted that Amir would be Pakistan's bowler for the third over
Over (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, an over is a set of six consecutive balls bowled in succession. An over is normally bowled by a single bowler. However, in the event of injury preventing a bowler from completing an over, it is completed by a teammate....
in the fourth test at Lords, and that the first ball of the over would be a no-ball delivery. Amir did bowl the third over, and on his first delivery from the over, bowled a no-ball delivery. Commentary described the delivery as an "enormous no-ball, good half a metre over the line". Majeed also predicted that the sixth delivery of the tenth over would be a no-ball, and that ball, delivered by Asif, was also a no-ball delivery.
Yawar Saeed
Yawar Saeed
Mian Yawar Saeed is a former Pakistani cricketer, who played 50 first-class matches for Somerset County Cricket Club and nine matches for a variety of teams based in Pakistan between 1953 and 1959...
, the Pakistan team manager, declined to call for the resignation of Salman Butt
Salman Butt
Salman Butt is a former Pakistani cricketer who was a regular Test and ODI left-handed opening batsman. He made his Test debut on 3 September 2003 in the third Test against Bangladesh, and a year later made his ODI debut against West Indies on 22 September 2004. He was appointed captain of the...
, implicated in the scandal. PCB president Ijaz Butt
Ijaz Butt
Mohammed Ijaz Butt is a former Pakistani cricketer who played in eight Tests from 1959 to 1962...
maintained that the players were innocent. At the same time, former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif
Rashid Latif
Rashid Latif is a former Pakistani wicket keeper and a right handed batsman who represented the Pakistani cricket team in Test cricket and One Day International matches, between 1992 and 2003. He also served as the captain of the Pakistan cricket team in 2003...
suggested that the spot-fixing controversy might be a set-up and that the leaked video contained a certain number of ambiguities. Iqbal Mohammad Ali
Iqbal Mohammad Ali
Iqbal Mohammad Ali is a Pakistani politician who is a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan. He is the chairman of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Sports. Over the 2010 Pakistan cricket spot-fixing controversy, Ali condemned the involved players and called for their removal from...
, a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan
National Assembly of Pakistan
The National Assembly of Pakistan is the lower house of the bicameral Majlis-e-Shura, which also compromises the President of Pakistan and Senate . The National Assembly and the Senate both convene at Parliament House in Islamabad...
and chairman of the standing committee on sports, called for the removal of the players in question from the team.
Former ICC president Ehsan Mani
Ehsan Mani
Ehsan Mani is a former President of the International Cricket Council . He was born in Rawalpindi in Pakistan on March 23, 1945. He spent his early life in Pakistan playing for the Rawalpindi Club and Government College Lahore XI from 1959 to 1965 as a right-hand batsman and a left-arm fast medium...
expressed shock at the revelations and criticised the Pakistan Cricket Board
Pakistan Cricket Board
The Pakistan Cricket Board is a sporting organization that is responsible for governing all professional cricket including Test cricket and One Day International matches played in Pakistan...
.
Professional bans
Salman ButtSalman Butt
Salman Butt is a former Pakistani cricketer who was a regular Test and ODI left-handed opening batsman. He made his Test debut on 3 September 2003 in the third Test against Bangladesh, and a year later made his ODI debut against West Indies on 22 September 2004. He was appointed captain of the...
, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were each named in the News of the World investigation. All three players maintained their innocence of the charges levelled against them, but were suspended pending an investigation by the International Cricket Council
International Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council is the international governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from England, Australia and South Africa, renamed the International Cricket Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989.The...
, which determined that they "had an arguable case to answer", on 4 September 2010.
Wajid Shamsul Hasan
Wajid Shamsul Hasan
Wajid Shamsul Hasan is a Pakistani diplomat. Since 22 June 2008, he has served as the High Commissioner of Pakistan to the United Kingdom.-Cricket Controversy:...
, the Pakistani High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, claimed that the players had been "set up" and were innocent of the charges. He condemned the ICC decision.
Butt subsequently filed an appeal to have his suspension lifted. Asif and Amir and followed suit and the ICC announced that a hearing would be held in Qatar on 30 and 31 October. The interior ministry announced that the passport of the three cricketers had been given back to them so that they can travel to Qatar. Seven days before the appeal began Mohammad Asif announced that he had withdrawn his appeal because he wanted to understand the charges against him. Butt and Amir announced that their appeals were to continue. The ICC moved the hearing to the UAE. Salman Butt announced that he hoped the appeals would be completed quickly so that he could make a swift return to international cricket and participate in the series against South Africa in October 2010. Their initial appeal against the suspension was rejected on 31 October 2010. Butt and Amir hit out at the ICC saying that, although the ruling went against them, they weren't informed of the reasons for the decision.
A tribunal to decide the fates of the players was held in January 2011 The panel comprised Michael Beloff
Michael Beloff
The Honourable Michael Jacob Beloff QC is a prominent English barrister. His adoption of the title or style "The Honourable" is a consequence of his father Max Beloff, Baron Beloff, having been awarded a life peerage in 1981...
, Albie Sachs
Albie Sachs
Albie Sachs was a judge on the Constitutional Court of South Africa. He was appointed to the court by Nelson Mandela in 1994 and retired in October 2009...
and Sharad Rao – all with previous experience in sporting trials. Butt and Amir objected to the selection of Beloff, contending that, as the head of the ICC disciplinary committee, he had a conflict of interest in favour the ICC over the three cricketers. This was shown, they claimed, when he voted against lifting their suspensions. Butt's lawyer, Aftab Gul, withdrew from the case because he doubted his client would receive justice. The ICC also said that because the story was broken by News of the World, its reporters would feature in the case. A decision was deferred to 5 February 2011.
On 5 February 2011, it was announced that the ICC had banned all three players—Butt for ten years, of which five were suspended, Asif for seven years, of which two were suspended, and Amir for five years. The suspension of sentences for Butt and Asif were conditional on each "[committing] no further breach of the code and...[participating] under the auspices of the Pakistan Cricket Board in a programme of anti-corruption education". All three players were allowed to file an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport
Court of Arbitration for Sport
The Court of Arbitration for Sport is an international arbitration body set up to settle disputes related to sport. Its headquarters are in Lausanne and its courts are located in New York, Sydney and Lausanne, Switzerland...
.
In response to the announcement, The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
said that "the game was at last standing up to its responsibilities," while The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
claimed that "the urgency to deliver a fierce deterrent to players everywhere has outweighed the need to make the punishment fit the crime."
Criminal investigation
As a result of the newspaper report, Scotland Yard announced the same day that they had arrested Majeed on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers. Two days later, after the Test match had been completed, three more arrests were made (two unidentified men and an unidentified woman) on suspicion of money laundering in connection with the allegations. Police also seized the cell phones of Asif, Amir, and Salman Butt as part of their investigations. Scotland Yard announced on 17 September 2010 that the initial file of the investigation had been passed on to the Crown Prosecution ServiceCrown Prosecution Service
The Crown Prosecution Service, or CPS, is a non-ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for public prosecutions of people charged with criminal offences in England and Wales. Its role is similar to that of the longer-established Crown Office in Scotland, and the...
for them to decide whether to charge the players or not. On 5 November 2010 Scotland Yard announced that they had passed on the second file of fixing evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service. This moved the case one step closer to the courts.
On 1 November 2011, at Southwark
Southwark
Southwark is a district of south London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Southwark. Situated east of Charing Cross, it forms one of the oldest parts of London and fronts the River Thames to the north...
Crown Court, Majeed, Asif, Amir and Butt were found guilty of conspiracy to cheat at gambling and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments. Majeed and Amir were convicted following guilty pleas. The judge, Jeremy Cooke, rejected a plea in mitigation from Amir that he had been involved in spot-fixing on only one occasion, on the grounds that the contents of text messages submitted as evidence suggested otherwise.
The convictions were broadly accepted and welcomed within the world of cricket. Former Pakistan captain Aamer Sohail
Aamer Sohail
Aamer Sohail is a former professional Pakistani cricketer and PCB Chief Selector. With Saeed Anwar, he formed one of the best opening combinations Pakistan has ever had....
spoke of a "shameful" day for Pakistani cricket, adding "this is what happens when you don't react quickly enough to fight corruption". Former Pakistan Cricket Board
Pakistan Cricket Board
The Pakistan Cricket Board is a sporting organization that is responsible for governing all professional cricket including Test cricket and One Day International matches played in Pakistan...
chair Khalid Mehmood described the case as "an example for cricket in the future".
On 3 November 2011, jail terms were handed down of 30 months for Butt, one year for Asif, six months for Amir and two years eight months for Majeed.
Australia
Then-Australia captain Ricky Ponting
Ricky Ponting
Ricky Thomas Ponting , nicknamed Punter, is an Australian cricketer, a former captain of the Australian cricket team between 2004 and 2011 in Test cricket and 2002 and 2011 in One Day International cricket. He is a specialist right-handed batsman, slips and close catching fielder, as well as a very...
expressed concern over the addition of an Australian victory against Pakistan to a list of more than 80 previous matches under investigation. Australia won the match, despite a large first-innings deficit.
Croydon Athletic F.C.
Croydon Athletic F.C.
Croydon Athletic F.C.
Croydon Athletic F.C. are an English football club based in Thornton Heath in the London Borough of Croydon, London, England. They currently play in the Isthmian League Division One South.-History:...
was bought in 2008 by Mazhar Majeed. The football club was investigated by HM Revenues and Customs due to allegations that Majeed had been using the club for money-laundering purposes. Majeed had been recorded by an undercover journalist stating that that was the only reason he had bought the club. This led to the manager and his assistant leaving the club after a match on 4 September 2010. Less than a month later on 2 October, the club's chairman David Le Cluse was found dead in a garage in Sutton
Sutton, London
Sutton is a large suburban town in southwest London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Sutton. It is located south-southwest of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. The town was connected to central London by...
with a bullet wound to his head; his death is currently under investigation by police.
Pakistan
Pakistani President Asif Ali ZardariAsif Ali Zardari
Asif Ali Zardari is the 11th and current President of Pakistan and the Co-Chairman of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party . He is also the widower of Benazir Bhutto, who served two nonconsecutive terms as Prime Minister....
, the titular patron of the Pakistan Cricket Board, told PCB chairman Ijaz Butt to keep him fully informed of developments. Haroon Akhtar, member of the Senate of Pakistan
Senate of Pakistan
The Senate of Pakistan is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Pakistan. Elections are held every three years for one half of the senate and each senator has a term of six years...
, blamed the PCB for the controversy.
Other investigations
The ICC announced that all of Pakistan's test matches post-1985 would be investigated as after 1985 the menace of match fixingMatch fixing
In organised sports, match fixing, game fixing, race fixing, or sports fixing occurs as a match is played to a completely or partially pre-determined result, violating the rules of the game and often the law. Where the sporting competition in question is a race then the incident is referred to as...
began to emerge. One test under investigation was a defeat against Australia in January 2010 when Pakistan were leading in a comfortable position but Kamran Akmal
Kamran Akmal
Kamran Akmal is a Pakistani cricketer who has played Tests, ODIs and T20Is for Pakistan as a wicket-keeper.- International career :He is a quick-scoring batsman and a wicket-keeper, who has achieved 6 centuries in Test innings...
dropped three catches and missed an easy run-out of Michael Hussey
Michael Hussey
Michael Edward Killeen Hussey is an Australian cricketer, a left-handed specialist batsman. Hussey is also widely known by his nickname Mr Cricket. Hussey was a relative latecomer to both the one-day international and Test Australian teams, debuting at 28 and 30 years of age in the respective...
who was on 33. Hussey went on to score 134 not out. The ICC later cleared the Sydney test or didn't investigate it further due to lack of evidence.
After the spot-fixing scandal emerged Pakistan registered a victory against England in the third ODI and the ICC announced the match was under investigation due to suspicious behaviour. The ICC carried out a thorough investigation and the Pakistani team and players were given the all-clear to continue playing. Speculation about fixing in the third-ODI ended as the investigation closed.
2010 ICC World Twenty20
The ICC announced that a match between South Africa and Pakistan on 10 May 2010 was under investigation for spot-fixing. The ICC anti-corruption unit stated that two players had been questioned and that more details would be given in the next 24 hours. Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat. Also Pakistan won the match comfortably.Further allegations (Hameed and Haider)
Pakistani cricketer, Yasir HameedYasir Hameed
Yasir Hameed Qureshi is a Pakistani cricketer. He scored two centuries on his Test debut against Bangladesh, becoming only the second player to do so...
denied the allegations published in News of the World that he had turned down a bookmaker's offer of £100,000 to help fix a Test. Hameed had allegedly told the newspaper that "almost every match" was fixed and criticised the players involved. Yasir Hameed denied the allegations, saying that he thought he was talking to a potential sponsor, and only stated what he read on the news. In November 2010, wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider
Zulqarnain Haider
Zulqarnain Haider is Pakistani cricketer who has played for his national team. Having played for Pakistan Under-19s, Haider was called up to the senior national side in 2010 as cover for wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal during their tour of England. Haider made his Test debut during the tour, but a...
left the Pakistani cricket team before their fifth and decisive one-day game against South Africa, and flew from Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
(where the series was being held) to London's Heathrow Airport. Haider asked for asylum and claimed that he had been threatened to throw the game. Haider's Pakistani stipend was suspended by the Pakistani Cricket Board. The board expressed disappointment that Haider had left the team and flown to London instead of reporting the threats to the PCB and the ICC's anti-corruption unit.
See also
- Betting controversies in cricketBetting controversies in cricketCricket has had a number of controversies relating to players being involved with the betting aspects of the game. In particular, numerous players have been approached by bookmakers and bribed to, throw matches, aspects of matches Cricket has had a number of controversies relating to players being...
- Pakistani cricket team in England in 2010Pakistani cricket team in England in 2010The Pakistan cricket team toured England from 29 July to 22 September 2010. The tour consisted of four Tests, two Twenty20s and five One Day Internationals .-1st Test:-2nd Test:-3rd Test:-4th Test:...