Danish Kaneria and the cricket betting scandal
Pakistan’s premier leg-spinner Danish Kaneria has been allowed to play for Essex in a County Championship match against Hampshire at the Rose Bowl on Friday. On the contrary, the Wales and England Cricket Board is pondering over his appeal against the verdict to suspend his registration.
Essex fast bowler Mervyn Westfield and Danish Kaneria were arrested last month by the Essex Police as part of an inquiry into the suspected involvement of these players for fixing a match.
The proposal is that the accused did not actively chuck matches but influenced passages of the game by bowling badly or sending down wide and no balls.
Though the duo has not been charged as yet and the Essex and the English Cricket Board have not taken any disciplinary action against them, Westfield and Kaneria have received letters from Lord's notifying them about a suspension of their registrations while the police inquiry continues. The letters were issue by the England Cricket Board's registration rather than the disciplinary department.
The decision from the England Cricket Board prevents paceman Westfield and leg-spinner Kaneria from playing competitive cricket in England and stopped from being compensated by the Essex County.
Kaneria filed an appeal against the decision and faced an ECB panel at Lord's on Tuesday. It is tacit that Kaneria requires clarification on whether the Wales and ECB have any objection if the leg-spinner tours England with the Pakistani squad, shortly this summer.
While the ECB ponders over Kaneria's appeal, Essex has picked him in its 14-man squad for a match against Hampshire.
"We are seeking clarification from the ECB about whether Danish can play against Hampshire," said Essex coach Paul Grayson. "If by 10.30 on Friday morning we have not heard from the ECB that he cannot play then we will pick him."
Essex did not name Kaneria in their squad for a championship match against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge last weekend. Similarly, they also withdrew his name from their final eleven for aT20 opener against Kent at Chelmsford on Wednesday.
"We are not going to make any comment on this at the moment," said an ECB spokesman. "We understand that Essex has named Danish Kaneria in their squad for this match but matters are on-going."
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) - just a day before the announcement of the national team for the England tour - had talked to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for the inclusion of leg-spinner Danish Kaneria.
In an ill-fated turn of events, Pakistan’s leading leg- spinner was detained together with his Essex partner Mervyn Westfield for their suspected involvement in spot-fixing during the Pro-40 League match against Durham last September. Both players are still under the investigation of the law enforcement authorities of England.
The duo has not been charged by the British Police, and has somehow managed to come out of imprison on bail until September 15th, 2010.
Sources in the Pakistan Cricket Board told a media reporter on Wednesday that Chairman PCB Ijaz Butt is in negotiations with the English management in this regard.
Butt said that the board wanted to make the situation crystal clear before including the leg-spinner to shun any untoward circumstances during the tour.
"We are aware of what is happening in connection with the ongoing investigation and if any development takes place we will let it be known publicly," Butt said.
PCB’s contact with the England and Wales Cricket Board comes as a response to reports that the ECB would allow Kaneria to play in the forthcoming series involving Pakistan.
Kaneria is Pakistan’s leading leg-spin bowler at the moment. In the international arena, he has played 58 test matches in which Danish got 254 wickets at an average of 34.27 and an economy rate of 3.04 runs per over.
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