The Pakistan cricket team, currently playing in England, has been hit by serious allegations of spot-fixing in the fourth Test match at Lord’s in London on Sunday.
The spot-fixing allegations involve Pakistani fast bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif, who have been accused of deliberately bowling three no-balls during the Test match at Lord’s last Thursday and Friday.

London’s Metropolitan Police, which has launched an investigation into the allegations, arrested a 35-year-old man, identified as London businessman Mazhar Majeed, on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers and he is being questioned.
Majeed was accused of accepting £150,000 from an undercover journalist working for the News of the World tabloid in return for telling Pakistan to deliberately bowl three no-balls. The report also alleged that Test captain Salman Butt and wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal were also involved in the spot-fixing scandal.
“I’m going to give you three no-balls to prove to you firstly that this is what’s happening. They’ve all been organised, okay? This is exactly what’s going to happen, you’re going to see these three things happen. I’m telling you, if you play this right you’re going to make a lot of money, believe me!” Majeed told undercover reporters posing as front men for an East Asian gambling cartel.
Majeed identified Salman Butt as the ringleader and boasted he had a total of seven cricketers in his pocket, the News of the World claimed.
England bowled out Pakistan on Sunday morning to win the match by an innings and 225 runs and the four-match Test series 3-1. Fast bowler Amir, at the centre of spot-fixing allegations, was given Pakistan’s man of the series award.
In the post-match press conference, Butt and team manager Yawar Saeed admitted that the Metropolitan Police had on Saturday night questioned Amir, Asif, Butt and Kamran Akmal. Three players, Butt, Asif and Amir, had their phones taken by the police, Mr Saeed confirmed.
However, the Pakistani captain and manager did not confirm if police detectives had also seized their passports and laptops and a large amount of cash from their hotel rooms in north London.
The police did not release details about the investigation. “Following information received from the News of the World we have arrested a 35-year-old man on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers,” the police said about the spot-fixing allegation.
The International Cricket Council, the England and Wales Cricket Board and the Pakistan Cricket Board all issued a joint statement refusing to comment on any details of the ongoing investigation against the Pakistan team. “No players nor team officials have been arrested in relation to this incident,” the ICC said on Sunday morning, citing the ongoing police investigation as the reason for making no further comment.
The ICC’s anti-corruption and security unit is fully assisting the police investigation, the ICC added.
The planned one-day international series between Pakistan and England would go ahead as planned, according to Mr Saeed. Shahid Afridi is leading the Pakistan team as the captain for the one-day series.
However, Majeed had told the News of the World that he was plotting for Pakistan to lose two of the one-day internationals against England in September. “Boss, I’m telling you, the timing you’ve come into. It’s perfect because the one-days and Twenty20s are about to start and we’re going to be making a hell of a lot money,” he told the undercover team.
PTI adds: The video evidence that the tabloid has presented also shows Majeed talking about his links with Indian bookies. “I deal with an Indian party. They pay me for the information,” Majeed is quoted as saying.
Besides Majeed, an accomplice of his was also picked up by the police for questioning. Majeed, 35, was arrested late Saturday night after the tabloid handed over details of its sting operation to Scotland Yard.
In Islamabad, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari expressed disappointment over the developing scandal and has demanded a report from the country’s cricket board. Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said Mr Zardari, who is also patron of the Pakistan Cricket Board, had directed officials to keep him updated about developments and the status of any inquiry that may have been ordered or held in London.
PCB chairman Ejaz Butt has been told to immediately submit a preliminary report about the incident, Mr Babar said.
Cricket-crazy Pakistanis said on Sunday they felt “violated” and “betrayed” by the reports from London and the country’s sports minister Ijaz Hussain Jakhrani vowed that any cricketer found guilty would face a lifetime ban. All Pakistani TV news channels began their hourly bulletins with news of the match-fixing scandal now being investigated by the ICC and Scotland Yard.
Mr Jakhrani said he had contacted Pakistan’s high commissioner to Britain Wajid Shamsul Hasan and PCB chief Ejaz Butt, who informed him they were waiting for reports from the ICC and Scotland Yard. Action could be taken only after these reports were received, he said. “If any player or member of the management is found to be involved (in match-fixing), he will get the harshest punishment. No one will be spared. The guilty players will not be able to play again.”