London/Karachi, September 1
Pakistan’s tainted trio of Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamir will today face another round of questioning from the Scotland Yard for their alleged involvement in the 'spot-fixing' scandal that has rocked international cricket even as England's Players' body demanded their ouster from the Twenty20 and ODI series here.

The trio, which has been implicated in the scandal after a sting operation by a British tabloid, is set to be quizzed by the Scotland Yard for the second time but they are not in danger of being arrested, a Pakistan Cricket Board official said. Their meeting with Pakistan High Commission officials here has, however, been postponed to Thursday. ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat will meet PCB chief Ijaz Butt as scheduled in London today to discuss the scandal that has plunged the game into a crisis.

The trio will now miss Pakistan's practice match against Somerset starting tomorrow as that will clash with their meeting with PCB and High Commission officials at the High Commission here. “The trio of captain Salman Butt and bowlers Mohammad Aamir and Mohammad Asif had been due to meet PCB chairman Ijaz Butt and the country's High Commissioner in London today. But it has emerged that the talks have been put back and now clash with the team's next fixture, which gets underway tomorrow,” ‘Sky News’ reported.

Pakistan team manager Yawar Saeed had yesterday said that the three would only face a PCB internal inquiry at the High Commission in London but it has now emerged that they will be questioned by Scotland Yard. He said no player has been charged as yet nor any case registered against them and they are available for the forthcoming Twenty20 and one-day series.

“As it stands now, the players have only been questioned by Scotland Yard. No one has been charged neither has Scotland Yard found any incriminating evidence against any player,” a PCB official said.

“We have hired a barrister to assist the players and will be present when they meet with Scotland Yard detectives today. The questioning is part of routine investigation but all the players who are being questioned are available for selection and play in the coming series,” he added.

The Pakistan High Commission has also asked the Scotland Yard to provide it with a preliminary report on the investigations. The investigations are still on but England’s Professional Cricketers Association wants the three to be dropped immediately so that the remaining tour does not become a “sideshow” to the murky scandal. — PTI

Johannesburg, September 1
ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat says he would be at “a loss of words” if the ‘spot-fixing’ allegations against three Pakistani cricketers turn out to be true but rejected criticism that the scandal has highlighted the world body’s failure to deal with corruption in the game. Speaking at the Cape Town International Airport after a brief return to the country in the middle of a ‘spot-fixing’ scandal that has rocked world cricket, Lorgat said players have to help in preventing such cases.

“We have identified corrupt individuals and advised players to stay away from them. We need cooperation from the players. They must listen to us and also have discipline,” Lorgat said late last night.

“We have a lot of measures in place. These measures work by and large. There have been many approaches (to players) reported and followed up,” he said.

Lorgat said it was not the job of ICC to stop betting and it can only ask the players and officials to stay away from that. “Betting activities will continue, our concern is if players and match officials are involved. Whatever happens outside the game is not our interest, but we will do anything possible to keep it out of the game,” he said.

Lorgat suggested that there was no evidence to prove that the Sydney Test between Australia and Pakistan early this year, which alleged bookie Mazhar Majeed said had been rigged. “You must be wary because it was a very dysfunctional (Pakistan) team touring there, and you need evidence before you can prove allegations,” Lorgat said.

Asked if life bans for cricketers guilty of fixing matches would be a suitable deterrent, Lorgat said the ICC “will adopt a zero tolerance approach to people found guilty (of spot-fixing or match-fixing)”. “The responsibility is on us to rebuild confidence in the game. We must implement additional measures if needed, but rest assured the ICC will do everything in its power to ensure that confidence is rebuilt,” he said. — PTI

New York, September 1
Rafael Nadal was given a tough US Open workout as he started his campaign for a first title in New York with a confidence-building 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 win over Russian Teymuraz Gabashvili.

The Spanish top seed yesterday ran out a comfortable enough winner in the end, but he was made to work hard by an opponent who went for his shots at every opportunity, especially, in a closely contested first two sets.

Nadal had the advantage of playing under lights in the night session at the Arthur Ashe Centre Court, avoiding the stifling heat of the day that had players gasping and reaching for ice packs at the changeovers.

The heat almost accounted for third seed Novak Djokovic, who needed to claw his way back from two sets to one and a break down before finally seeing off fellow Serb Viktor Troicki 6-3, 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 in three hours and 40 minutes of punishing tennis.

Among seeded players to fall were 16th seed Marcos Baghdatis, who went down 6-3, 2-6, 1-6, 6-4, 7-5 to French veteran Arnaud Clement, and 24th seed Ernests Gulbis, who fell 6-2, 7-6 (7/1), 6-4 to Jeremy Chardy of France.

American 19th seed Mardy Fish almost joined them before he got the better of Jan Hajek of the Czech Republic 6-0, 3-6, 4-6, 6-0, 6-1 in a roller-coaster of a match.

Spanish powerhouse Fernando Verdasco was also taken to the limit before he ended the upset hopes of Italy's Fabio Fognini 1-6, 7-5, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3.

BRIEFLY

Bindra, Narang in CWG squad
New Delhi: Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra will spearhead the Indian shooting challenge in both Commonwealth and Asian Games, along with other top marksmen, such as Gagan Narang and Manavjit Singh Sandhu. Bindra, along with Narang, will represent the country in 10m air rifle event in the October 3 to 14 Delhi Commonwealth Games, the National Rifles Association of India said in a statement. “Narang, however, will also compete in the 50m prone and 50m 3 position events. He will be the only shooter to participate in three rifle events,” the NRAI said. — PTI

Randhir quits NDTL too
New Delhi: Indian Olympic Association (IOA) secretary-general Randhir Singh on Wednesday resigned from his membership of the National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL) as he did not want to be associated with any body under the Sports Authority of India (SAI). Randhir had quit the SAI governing body on Tuesday when the Government did not show the courtesy of extending him an invitation for the Arjuna Awards function on August 29. — TNS

Pietersen might face ECB probe
TAUNTON: Kevin Pietersen faced the prospect of disciplinary action after announcing via social networking site Twitter he’d been dropped from England’s squad for the upcoming Twenty20 and one-dayers against Pakistan. The news was confirmed several hours later when the squads were announced formally by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). Pietersen could be in trouble for revealing squad details before the official announcement, an ECB spokesman said. — AFP

Sharma wins PGTI event
Chandigarh: Maniram Sharma of Karnal shot a three over 75 card to win the PGTI Feeder Tour event on the par-72 greens of Ranjitgarh Golf Club in Phillaur on Wednesday. Maniram tallied three over 219 (72-72-75) defeating Phillaur's Amit Kumar by three strokes who finished with a total of five over 221 (70-73-78). Sharma's win is his second on the PGTI Feeder Tour. He now occupies the top slot on the Tour Order of Merit with earnings of Rs. 1,43,421. — OC