Pakistan await hearing
09/01/2010 10:36:48 AM
Three Pakistan cricketers caught up in the 'spot-fixing' betting scandal will have to wait until Thursday to learn their fate.
Skipper Salman Butt and bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif were expected to front the Pakistan Cricket Board and High Commissioner on Wednesday, but the meeting was moved back a day meaning the trio are likely to miss the one-day tour match with Somerset on Thursday.
However, a statement from the High Commission said players would not be dropped from the side as a punishment until evidence of wrongdoing had been uncovered and claimed the tour would continue as planned.
"So far, no case has been made against any player," the statement read.
"The PCB has emphasised that there is no question of calling off the tour or dropping any player from playing the matches."
With the first Twenty20 game scheduled for Cardiff on Sunday, Pakistan are facing a major problem because if Salman, Asif and Amir are axed, then they will have just 13 players available for selection.
A News of the World report uncovered the alleged spot-fixing, whereby players conspire to bowl no-balls at specific times of the innings enabling gamblers to profit from so-called exotic bets.