London, Sept. 21: The relationship between the Pakistan and England cricket teams is close to breaking point over allegations of match and spot-fixing controversies that have dogged the Test and one-day series.
England batsman Jonathan Trott and Pakistan bowler Wahab Riaz were involved in an altercation at the nets before start of the fourth One-Day International at Lord’s on Monday afternoon. “How much are you going to make from the bookies today?” Trott reportedly asked Riaz. An enraged Riaz responded by making a comment about Trott’s family. The two players then threw their batting pads at each other before grabbing each other by the throat in full public view.
The squabbling pair had to be separated England batting coach Graham Gooch, who pushed Trott away and put an arm around Riaz. Match referee Jeff Crowe summoned both the players to the MCC offices along with England coach Andy Flower and his Pakistani counterpart Waqar Younis.
However, both England captain Andrew Strauss and Pakistan coach Waqar Younis tried to dismiss it as an “isolated incident” during the post-match press conference at Lord’s.
Both Strauss and Younis, who attended the press conference instead of captain Shahid Afridi, claimed to have no knowledge about the reason for the altercation between Trott and Wahab Riaz.