London, Aug. 29: Pakistan captain Salman Butt insisted he would not be resigning after being implicated in an alleged betting scam.
Britain’s News of the World newspaper claimed it paid £150,000 ($230,000) to a middle man in return for details about the timing of three no-balls in the fourth Test at Lord’s.
That ended Sunday in victory for England by an innings and 225 runs — Pakistan’s heaviest Test defeat of all time.
The report alleged Pakistan seamers Mohammad Amir — the tourists’ man of the series — and Mohammad Asif delivered the blatant no-balls at the exact points in the match agreed with the alleged fixer, who it was also suggested by the paper, was in contact with Butt.
Pakistan tour manager Yawar Saeed, speaking at a Lord’s news conference alongside Butt, told reporters: “As far as the allegations are concerned, I would still call them allegations.
“It’s not really for me within 24 hours to pass a judgment on whether they are true or not.”
However, Butt who inherited the captaincy after Shahid Afridi quit Test cricket following Pakistan’s 150-run loss to Australia at Lord’s last month, was in defiant mood.
The 25-year-old batsman, pointed out how under his leadership, Pakistan had bounced back to draw 1-1 against Australia and beaten England at The Oval last week before defeat at Lord’s meant a four-match series was lost 3-1.
“Pakistan have won a Test match against Australia for the first time in 15 years and against England for the first time in nine years,” Butt said. “Does that make me resign from this current situation?” he asked.