Bookie Mazhar Majeed released on bail

He was released from custody having been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers.

LONDON: The man at the centre of an alleged betting scam involving the Pakistan cricket team was out on bail on Monday as police, governments and authorities probed the scandal rocking the sport.

Mazhar Majeed, 35, was released from custody having been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers, following a newspaper's claim that he took money in return for exact details on no-balls in the Lord's Test match between England and Pakistan.

British police bailed Majeed without charge late on Sunday. "A 35-year-old man has been bailed until a date in the future," a Scotland Yard spokesman told AFP. He said the police would not be discussing the date or his bail conditions.

Scotland Yard detectives have also grilled Pakistan captain Salman Butt and two of their star strike bowlers Mohammad Aamir and Mohammad Asif in their investigation.

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said the claims "have bowed our heads in shame", as he launched an investigation.

The News of the World newspaper said it paid Majeed 150,000 pounds (230,000 dollars, 185,000 euros) in return for advance details about the timing of three no-balls in the fourth and final Test, which England won on Sunday to take the series 3-1.

The report said that Aamir and Asif delivered blatant no-balls at the exact points in the match indicated by the alleged middleman.

Scotland Yard said that they could not discuss persons interviewed as part of an inquiry. The News of the World published a photograph, video and audio of its encounters with Majeed. He was pictured counting wads of banknotes given to him by a reporter posing as a front man for a betting syndicate.

A defiant Butt insisted he would not resign the Test team captaincy over the claims. "Anybody can stand out and say anything about you, that doesn't make them true," he said.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said that they had requested access to the ongoing investigation.

Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan said that cricket in Pakistan must not be allowed to be dragged down by corrupt players. "Why should Pakistan cricket suffer if some players have indulged in a crime?" he told Britain's ITV television.

"The people who are found guilty should be removed from the team and replaced and should be punished as an example."

Ramiz Raja, the former Pakistan captain and later PCB chief executive, wrote in The Daily Telegraph newspaper Monday: "It is a disaster for cricket. Those players must now be dealt with severely."