ICC rejects Salman Butt’s appeal for a hearing delay
The International Cricket Council has rejected Pakistan’s suspended batsman Salman Butt’s appeal for an extension in the hearing date of the spot-fixing case, which is set to begin from 6th of January 2011 in Doha, Qatar.
The decision was made in a teleconference, held by the ICC's anti-corruption tribunal headed by Michael Beloff QC.
The rejection of appeal was confirmed by Butt himself who without giving any details said, “Yes, my request has been rejected." The former Test captain had asked the ICC to extend the date of the spot-fixing hearing because his lawyers needed more time to
prepare for the case and he wanted to wait for the Scotland Yard to submit all their findings first.
However, the ICC has refused to agree to Butt’s request and have decided to keep the hearing on the previously set date. It needs to be noted that in this teleconference the other two suspended players Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif were not present. The
two pacers have chosen not to support Butt in this matter. Just yesterday Amir told the press that he did not wish for a delay in the hearing of the spot-fixing case because he wanted to get his name cleared as soon as possible. Asif, however, did not give
any public statements regarding the matter but today his absence during the teleconference shows that he was also not in the favour of a delay.
Pakistan is currently facing the worst period in the history of its cricket because three of its main players Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif have been suspended by the ICC for their alleged involvement in spot-fixing during a Test series in
England against the English side.
When the news of this corruption in the Pakistan team first surfaced, the Scotland Yard was handed over the task of investigating the whole matter. The Yard has so far filed some evidence to the ICC but their investigation is not over yet and this is the
reason why Butt wanted an extension in the date of the hearing so that his lawyers could properly prepare a defence after all evidence was submitted to the ICC by the Scotland Yard. This is Butt’s second appeal which has been turned down by the ICC. Previously,
Amir and Butt had filed an appeal against their preliminary suspension last month which was also rejected by an ICC panel again headed by Michael Beloff QC.
All this has caused a rift between the players and the ICC; the players have openly expressed their lack of faith on the hearing which is to be conducted by the ICC.
But, on the other hand, Amir and Asif are eager to get their names cleared and are quite confident that they will be acquitted from all the allegations once the spot-fixing tribunal sets underway.
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