Pak players also accused of fixing first Test match against England
London: Pakistani cricketers, who are allegedly being investigated by the Scotland Yard for fixing the Lord's Test, have also been accused of fixing first Test match against England. The shock allegation that the First Test was fixed surfaced as cricket was plunged
into crisis over a match-fixing ring. Cricket agent Mazhar Majeed was arrested
on Saturday on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers over an alleged betting
scam involving the Pakistan national team. The News of the World claimed that
it paid Majeed for advance details of when three no balls would be played in the
latest Lord's Test, which England won. Police also questioned three Pakistan players
over the alleged scam and detectives confiscated mobile phones of Mohammad Amir,
Mohammad Asif and Pakistan 's captain Salman Butt. The Sun revealed that the police
were told a month ago about match fixing in the England-Pakistan Test series.
Scotland Yard's Assistant Commissioner Cressida Dick was tipped off over alleged
corruption in the first match. An intelligence source warned that several Pakistani
cricketers were fixing events within the match, held at Trent Bridge , Nottingham
, in July. The informant told cops that a middle-man had corrupted at least one
key Pakistani player for a large-scale betting sting involving Asian syndicates.
A source told The Sun: "The information given to Assistant Commissioner Dick was
credible. But such an investigation would have soaked up a huge amount of resources,
with no guarantee of a result. "The intelligence was still being analysed to see
if there was any possible way forward. It now transpires that corruption has continued."
