Pak big fix may be bigger

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The main accused in the spot-fixing scandal involving the Pakistan cricket team has been released on police bail after his arrest on Saturday. The 35-year-old owner of a football club will have to appear before the police at a future date, Scotland Yard revealed.
The arrest of the accused was linked to the spot-fixing allegations involving two Pakistan fast bowlers who have been accused of deliberately bowling three no-balls during the fourth Test between Pakistan and England match at Lord’s last Thursday and Friday.
It has also been claimed that the first Test match between England and Pakistan at Trent Bridge in Nottingham in July was subject to largescale spot-fixing by Pakistani cricketers.
The ICC’s Dubai-based anti-corruption and security unit, which is investigating the spot-fixing allegations, could extend the scope to include more than 80 international Tests and one-day matches involving Pakistan. The anti-corruption cell will study all 82 Tests and one-day matches played by Pakistan in the period the accused reportedly told the News of the World that he had rigged matches.
The Pakistan team manager, who on the phone promised to talk to the media outside the team’s hotel in north London, however, stepped out for about an hour from his hotel in a taxi. It is not clear if he went to Lord’s or for a short shopping trip with his wife.
The Pakistan cricket team, accompanied by the manager, left their London hotel for Taunton, Somerset, on Monday afternoon. The team, which left in a ECB bus and was provided security by the Metropolitan Police, was subjected to shouts of “Chor, Chor! (Thief, Thief!)” by angry Pakistani cricket fans, who even shouted nasty abuse against the cricketers.
The Sun said Monday that Scotland Yard had been tipped off a month ago that a middle-man had corrupted at least one key Pakistani player for a largescale betting sting involving Asian syndicates. However, there was no reaction from the Metropolitan Police on this claim.
The International Cricket Council and Pakistan Cricket Board officials met at Lord’s on Monday morning, but no details about their discussions were released either by the ICC or the Pakistani side. Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ejaz Butt is in London.
The Pakistani team is due to play a one-day warm-up match against Somerset at Taunton on Thursday. The team will play two Twenty20 matches against England on September 5 and 7 in Cardiff before the five-match ODI series at Durham (Sept. 10), Headingley, Leeds (Sept. 12), Oval, London (Sept. 17), Lord’s, London (Sept. 20), and Rose Bowl, Southampton (Sept. 22).
Sir Ronald Flanagan, chairman of the ICC anti-corruption and security unit, who took over from Lord Condon on July 1, has been unavailable for comment on the latest match-fixing controversy to hit world cricket. He is assisting the Scotland Yard investigation.
The police and tax officials also searched the middleman’s house in Croydon and will investigate accounts of his now-defunct firm and the football club to check his claims that he laundered money through these two businesses.