Test captain Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer
these three Pakistan
players at the centre of spot-fixing allegations left their London
hotel on Thursday morning to head for talks with officials about the
allegations which appeared in newspapers last weekend and have been followed,
so far, by four arrests of people outside the Pakistan
squad.
The controversy has overshadowed the upcoming Twenty20 and
one-day series against England,
with many suggesting the trio should not be withdrawn from the squad while
investigations are ongoing.Pakistan Cricket Board Ijaz Butt, who met with the
three players on Wednesday and suggested that, unless police charged any of
them, that was unlikely to happen.He told the BBC: "We cannot decide on
the basis of allegations. Unless we charge someone, they are free to do whatever
they want."
Butt, Asif and Aamer were interviewed by police during the
Lord's Test and had their mobile phones confiscated as Scotland Yard tried to
get to the bottom of claims the Pakistanis bowled no-balls to order as part of
a betting scam.
Croydon-based businessman Mazhar Majeed was arrested at the
weekend but released without charge on police bail following questioning at
Scotland Yard.The England
and Wales Cricket Board are understood to have lobbied for the players to be
stood down, by whatever means, from the forthcoming limited-overs matches - and
their absence tomorrow may well be the first step towards ensuring that.
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