No practice for tainted players

Pakistan cricket captain Salman Butt and pacers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were summoned to London by Scotland Yard in connection with the no-ball controversy that has erupted during the current England vs Pakistan series.

The three players were in Taunton with the rest of the team ahead of a friendly match against Somerset. The three were stopped from practising with the team, NDTV reported on its website.

Along with wicket keeper Kamran Akmal, these three players were questioned over the weekend as well at their London hotel.

The formal call for interrogation comes hours after the Chairman of the Pakistani Cricket Board, Ijaz Butt, said no Pakistani player would be dropped for the rest of the UK-Pakistan series till formal investigations are completed. "There is a case going on with the Scotland Yard. This is only an allegation. There is still no charge or proof on that account. So at this stage there will be no action taken," said Butt.

The substantial charges of corruption against members of the Pakistani cricket team have become a national embarrassment and crisis.u00a0 Several simultaneous investigations are in progress. The UK police is involved; Pakistan is sending members of its Federal Investigating Agency to England; and the International Cricket Council is also conducting an inquiry through its anti-Corruption Unit.

Over the weekend, UK tabloid News of the Worldu00a0 showed video footage of a middleman, Mazhar Majeed, accepting thousands of pounds from an undercover reporter.

In return, he promises to have three no-balls bowled at certain times at the Lord's test match. The no-balls did play out exactly as promised by Majeed, who was arrested on Saturday and then released on bail on Sunday.

What Majeed was offering was "spot-fixing" - where players are paid for details of play. Majeed described Butt as "the ring-leader" of the players involved with betting syndicates.

He also bragged that a test match played by Pakistan against Australia in Sydney at the beginning of this year had been thrown by Pakistani cricketers.u00a0 Referring to this expose, the Pakistani Cricket Board said it didn't want to go by newspaper reports.

The ICC's report by its Anti-Corruption Unit is expected to be finalised within the next three days.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) and the England cricket Board are keen for the two T20 matches, and five One Day matches to take place as scheduled. The England Cricket Board could lose 10-12 million pounds if the series is cancelled. Senior players for England have reportedly expressed their reluctance to continue with the series unless Butt, Asif and Aamer are dropped.

A crucial point of the controversy could develop around 50,000 pounds (about 37 lakhs) allegedly found in Butt's room by Scotland Yard.u00a0 Butt claims that the money was to pay for a trousseau for his sister.u00a0 However, the cash was found in different currencies, including UAE dirhams.