Butt, Asif, Amir to return home today

LONDON: Salman Butt, Muhammad Asif and Muhammad Amir, the three players accused of spot-fixing, are to return home on Friday, a spokesman for the team said.

"They have not been charged by the police with any offence," the spokesman added. "They have fully co-operated with the police into the enquiries and maintain that they are innocent of any alleged wrongdoing.

"They have agreed with the police to return to England if the police request them to do so to further assist the police in their enquiries."

The Metroplitan Police verified the developments with a statement of their own. "We can confirm that we have been made aware that the three Pakistani cricketers interviewed under caution on Friday September 3 intend to leave the United Kingdom today, Friday September 10, and have given an undertaking through their solicitor to return to assist the Metropolitan Police Service inquiry in due course," the statement said.

Meanwhile, Wahab Riaz has been summoned for questioning by London's Metropolitan Police for questioning over the allegations.

"We have allowed him to be interviewed and made him available as we believe in fully cooperating with the ongoing investigations," Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ijaz Butt told a news conference in Lahore on Thursday.

The team still has five one-day matches to play against England, having already lost the test series 3-1 and the Twenty20 series 2-0.