ECB demands apology from Ejaz Butt - threatens with legal action otherwise
Pakistan’s tour of England may be over for now, but the echoes of several controversies that surfaced during this tour are surely to be heard for a long time to come. Just hours before England’s decisive victory in the 5 ODI Pak-Eng Series at http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Rose-c86842 bowl,
England and Wales Cricket Board asked for a "full and unreserved apology" from the Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman, Ejaz Butt.
The PCB Chairman had, earlier, accused the English team of being involved in match fixing during their 3rd ODI against Pakistan. It so happened that after http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 beat England at oval, there were allegations made by British tabloid, The Sun,
that Pakistan team was involved in match fixing. In reply, Ejaz Butt told an Indian channel: "There is loud and clear talk in bookie circles that some English players were paid enormous amounts of money to lose. No wonder there was total collapse of the English
side."
However, later while speaking at a radio show, Butt claimed that he had only stating what he had heard of and that he had no proof in support of his claim. ECB, in a letter, warned Ejaz that "legal proceedings will be commenced without further notice", if
no sufficient apology is received. The official letter was undersigned by the officials of England and Wales Cricket Board while also the members of Professional Cricketers’ Association. Earlier, the ashes winning former England captain, Michael Vaughan, had
also urged Andrew Strauss to take legal action.
Vaughan expressed his outrage at the allegations saying, "I'd be making a few phone calls to legal sources to try to take this a little bit further. I can't think of anything worse than your name being mentioned in terms of fixing a game of cricket". He
added that the English team handled the situation maturely. He maintained that he has never been involved in a match or series that had such high stakes throughout his career. Vaughan went on to say that if the PCB chief cannot come up with concrete evidence
to support his claim, he should be taken to task.
Meanwhile, ICC has also started an investigation into Pakistan’s performance in the 3rd ODI at Oval. The men in green had set England a target of 242 runs, but the hosts despite a good start collapsed in the end, losing their last 5 wickets for
just 17 runs.
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