English board may sue Ejaz Butt for match-fixing claims
The England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said that it will take the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board to court over his statement that the English cricketers had accepted money to lose the third ODI
against the Pakistanis at Oval. The ECB described the allegations as "wholly irresponsible and completely without foundation".
The ECB also decided that the tour will carry on as planned, and the last two ODIs at Lord’s and the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 went on to beat England in the Lord’s ODI.
The ECB added that it would do cricket no good if the tour got cancelled “based on the misguided and inaccurate remarks made by one individual.”
Earlier, the controversy had begun when the PCB chairman Butt had lashed out at the International Cricket Council and said that they had transpired to conspire against the Pakistan cricket. Butt added that
not only were his cricketers not responsible for the match-fixing allegations for the third ODI, but he also thought that it was the English cricketers who had taken bribes for altering the result of the game.
The ECB discussed and deliberated for around 24 hours before they came up with an official rejoinder. The ECB met up with the English cricket team in before formulating its official response, and their statement
was only issued after a lengthy meeting between the ECB and Team England, which stretched late into Sunday night, a day before the fourth ODI. ECB's chairman Giles http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Hugh-Morris-c63550, and the
England captain and coach, Andrew Strauss and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Andrew-Flower-c44362 attended the meeting, and then briefed the entire English side on the issue.
There were rumours that the English team was keen on calling off the last two games of the series but agreed that the cricket must go on.
In a statement that was released on behalf of the English players, the ECB said, “The team deplores and rejects unreservedly the suggestion that any England cricketer was involved in manipulating the outcome,
or any individual element, of the third NatWest Series ODI at the Brit Insurance Oval between England and Pakistan last week. The players fully understand their responsibilities as representatives of their country, and would not countenance giving less than
100 per cent in any match they play.”
The Butt-statement also caused enough friction between the players of the two teams as the English player Jonathan Trott clashed with Pakistani bowler, Wahab Riaz before the start of the Lord’s game.
The Professional Cricketers’ Association chief Angus http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Porter-c82384 and Hugh Robertson, Minister for Sport and the Olympics, suggested that it was a welcome decision by the English team to not call off the tour.
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