Suspended trio’s hearing begins today

The hearing that will determine the futures of suspended trio will start today in Doha.

DOHA: The hearing that will determine the futures of suspended trio Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir will start today in Doha. The hearing will be attended by an independent anti-corruption tribunal, International Cricket Council’s (ICC) lawyers Jonathon Taylor and Ian Higgins, witnesses, the players and their lawyers.

Chairman of the ICC’s Code of Conduct Commission Michael Beloff will be heading the tribunal and will be assisted by Justice Albie Sachs and Sharad Rao.

The hearing will begin with an opening statement from cricket’s governing body presenting its case against the trio, after which the players will give their defence. “Thereafter, the ICC will present all of the evidence that it has prepared in support of the charges it has brought,” Beloff told ESPN CRICINFO. “That will take various forms and will include hearing from witnesses ‘in person’ and over the telephone.”

The ICC’s witnesses include individuals from the tabloid News of the World as well as teleconferences with Shahid Afridi and Waqar Younis.

Salman, Asif and Amir were provisionally suspended by the ICC in October, with the world cricket governing body’s code of conduct carrying a minimum five-year ban if corruption charges are proved.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 6^th, 2011.