'Pakistan cricketers have a case to answer'

ICC anti-corruption chief Ronnie Flanagan says players suspended on various charges. Aamer reports to police station.

LONDON: Cricket's governing body vowed on Friday to do whatever necessary to root out cheats and preserve the integrity of the game after suspending three Pakistan players over match-fixing claims.

‘We have come to the conclusion that they have a case to answer,’ said the body's anti-corruption chief Ronnie Flanagan speaking at a press conference on Friday.

The three, captain Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, had been suspended by the ICC on Friday on ‘various charges’.

The International Cricket Council has charged three Pakistan players with various offences under Article 2 of the ICC Anti-Corruption Code for Players and Player Support Personnel relating to alleged irregular behavior during, and in relation to, the fourth Test between England and Pakistan at Lord’s last month. Article 2 relates to offences under the code, including corruption, betting and misuse of inside information.

International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive Haroon Lorgat said that the case was now the subject of a criminal investigation and spoke of his ‘extreme disappointment’.

‘We will do whatever we can to preserve the integrity of the game,’ he added.

‘There is absolutely no truth to the suggestion that there is a conspiracy towards Pakistan cricket,’ he said.

‘There is a lot of sympathy for Pakistan and its players.’

Mohammad Aamer reports to British Police

Meanwhile, Mohammad Aamer reported to a British police station, as the International Cricket Council, was explaining the provisional suspensions and corruption charges hanging over the trio in a press conference at Lord's.

He arrived at Kilburn Police Station, near Lord's cricket  ground in north London, where he is expected to be interviewed by detectives.

Police are also expected to question Pakistan's Test captain Salman Butt and Aamer's fellow bowler Mohammad Asif on Friday.

London's Metropolitan Police offered no comment when contacted by AFP.

So far, police have bailed without charge a 35-year-old man arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers as part of their probe into the alleged ‘spot-fixing’ scam surrounding the Pakistan team.