England vs. Pakistan: Troubling times as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ijaz-Butt-c64128 and Afridi defiant
The Pakistan Cricket Board and its players are most certainly outraged by the recent spot-fixing allegations that have cast doubt on the integrity of the Pakistani players. Despite winning the match by a thin margin - a match that England could have easily
won - British tabloid 'The Sun' published reports that Pakistani players had given information about the pattern of scoring in the Oval ODI. The ICC has been inactive as far as tackling corruption and match-fixing is concerned and seems only spurred in the
wake of news reports issued in British tabloids.
To add fuel to this raging fire, Ijaz Butt, the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board levelled allegations on English players for accepting big amounts of money to fix the Oval ODI, an accusation that has infuriated the ECB. The English cricket team have
heavily criticized the statement and have also threatened to sue Butt for questioning their integrity. It is imperative to note, that as far as spot-fixing allegations against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 were concerned, the ICC did not follow the ICC’s code of conduct during
the investigative process where it is imperative for the governing body to inform the concerned board whose players are under the microscope.
A testament to the worsening relations between Pakistan and England is the fact that before the start of the 4th ODI at Lords, Pakistani 12th man Wahab Riaz was involved in a scuffle with Jonathan Trott who reportedly grabbed the Pakistani
player by the throat. The situation was diffused when http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482 was considering the option of pulling out of the series. However, he later decided to go
against the move and both the teams hushed up the matter amongst them when Jonathan Trott later came and apologized.
Meanwhile Ijaz Butt was called to a meeting in Dubai with ICC officials http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Haroon-Lorgat-c61719, the Chief Executive and Sharad Pawar, the President of the governing body to explain his accusations of match fixing against England.
The erratic 72-year-old insisted that the English players along with the way Andrew Strauss’s team suffered defeat against Pakistan at the Oval should be investigated. He also called for the sacking of Haroon Lorgat for the way he dealt with the issue of
match-fixing allegations against Pakistan in the third ODI. It was however strange that the ICC made a media statement before the Pakistan cricket team was informed. Butt has alleged that Lorgat has broken ICC rules by issuing the media statement without making
the PCB privy to the allegations.
In another development, the England and Wales Cricket Board has asked for a formal apology from Ijaz Butt. They have also informed the players that the board will pay their legal fees for suing Ijaz Butt on defamation charges - a move which was endorsed
by English captain Andrew Strauss.
It is likely that Ijaz Butt will continue making claims against English players and the ICC. However, seniors in the governing body and senior officials in Pakistan have distanced themselves from the increasingly erratic chairman of the PCB.
Removing Butt however would be a difficult issue for the ICC since Pawar happens to be a powerful Indian politician and the ICC will be well aware of how this move could worsen the already volatile relations between Pakistan and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 especially so in the
wake of Indian violence in occupied Kashmir that has resulted in approximately 100 deaths.
Butts term in office ends later this year, and it is highly unlikely that the 72-year-old will be reappointed for this post, unless of course the Patron of Chief thinks otherwise. Pakistan Cricket has taken a serious bashing during his tenure. However, one
could hope that the relations between Pakistan and England Cricket Board could improve in the light of the disastrous comments made by the chairman that have the relations between the two boards hanging by a thread.
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