ICC defend decision to suspend trio

Haroon Lorgat
12 April 2012

The International Cricket Council has defended its decision to suspend the three players embroiled in the 'spot-fixing' scandal, insisting that there is no conspiracy against Pakistani cricket.

On Thursday night The ICC took the decision to suspend captain Salman Butt and seamers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer after charging them with "various offences" under the governing body's code of conduct. Pakistan high commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hasan on Friday accused the ICC of "playing to the public gallery" by suspending the trio.

ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said: "This particular incident with the three players is unrelated to the challenge that we've got in keeping Pakistan involved as a full member of the International Cricket Council. So I wouldn't want to link the two, and I certainly wouldn't subscribe to the view that there is some sort of conspiracy around Pakistan cricket."

The three players were questioned by police in relation to a criminal investigation which was launched after claims made in the News of the World that they were part of a spot-fixing scam aimed at defrauding illegal bookmakers.

Hasan claimed that he had received assurances from Lorgat that the players would not be suspended while they were part of a criminal investigation at a meeting on Thursday night.

Hasan went on to claim that the ICC had "no authority to intervene" in the matter and added that he thought there was a "conspiracy" growing against a country that was stripped of its right to co-host the 2011 World Cup and has to play its "home" games abroad due to security fears.

Lorgat rejected those claims at a press conference at Lord's on Friday morning. Lorgat also refuted the suggestion that he had assured the high commissioner that the trio would not be charged while the police investigation was underway.

Sir Ronnie Flanagan, chairman of the ICC's anti-corruption and security unit (ACSU), meanwhile, said at the press conference that the players had been suspended because they had "a really arguable case to answer".

Chaotic scenes outside the Pakistan high commission in London on Thursday matched the turmoil that has been thrust upon the cricket-mad nation since the allegations against the players were made.

The cricketers needed a police escort to enter the building to hold talks with Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt and Hasan, who emerged to reveal that the players had protested their innocence to him.

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