http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ijaz-Butt-c64128 apologises for England match-fixing claims
Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ijaz Butt has back-pedalled on claims of match-fixing he made against the England team after their loss to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 in the third ODI of their September series.
In a statement released on behalf of Butt, England Cricket Board chairman Giles http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Clarke-c51120, the PCB and the ECB Butt said: “I wish personally and on behalf of the Pakistan Cricket Board to withdraw the comments I made concerning the England and Wales Cricket Board and each of the England players who played in the NatWest One Day International at the Brit Insurance Oval on Friday 17 September.
“It is regrettable that there was a misunderstanding arising from my comments. I would like to make it quite clear that in the statements which I made that I never intended to question the behaviour and integrity of the England players nor the ECB nor to suggest that any of them were involved in any corrupt practices or in a conspiracy against Pakistan cricket.
"In particular, I wish to make it clear that I have never seen any evidence of any wrong doing by any England player or the ECB at any time. I deeply and sincerely regret that my statements have been interpreted to cast doubt upon the good names of the England players and the ECB and hope that this public withdrawal will draw a line under the matter.
“The ECB and its chairman have been and continue to be a friend of and hugely supportive of Pakistan cricket. I am very grateful for their efforts in that regard and for their hospitality this summer.”
It’s a 180-degree turnaround from Butt’s previous stance following England’s 23-run loss to Pakistan at The Oval, when, in an interview on Pakistan television, he accused a number of unnamed England players of accepting “enormous amounts of money” to throw the match.
But it’s a retraction the ECB have seemed to accept, with the statement continuing that “The ECB and the England players who played at the Brit Insurance Oval warmly welcome this withdrawal and now regard the matter closed.”
So the increasingly frosty relations between the two boards appear to have been smoothed over for now, but after Pakistan’s controversial tour of England – during which tabloid paper the News of the World alleged players in the Pakistan team were involved in spot-fixing in the Lord’s Test in late August; with the ICC subsequently charging and provisionally suspending Pakistan Test captain Salman Butt, and pacemen Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir under its Anti-Corruption Code – surely the ECB will be at least a little hesitant to extend a helping hand to Pakistan for the staging of further neutral tours on English soil.
With security threats rendering Pakistan a no-go zone for international cricket for the foreseeable future, the ECB gave the team the chance to “host” http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 for a series in England over the past summer. Clarke has confirmed that he’ll remain the ICC Pakistan Task Team chairman, but there must surely be a degree of reluctance to offer up England’s cricket grounds for Pakistan’s use in future after the summer’s events.
After some initial defiance, Butt’s apology has finally been made, and the threat of legal proceedings being instigated by the ECB against the PCB chair has been averted, but with Salman Butt, Amir and Asif still under investigation by the ICC, the ramifications of Pakistan’s controversial 2010 summer in England are still set to be felt for some time yet.
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