Pakistan's team management believe that their one-day series against England will go ahead as planned next week, despite allegations of spot-fixing during the Lord's Test. England's captain,
Andrew Strauss, however, admitted to mixed feelings about the series of five ODIs and two Twenty20s that gets underway in Cardiff on September 5, and said that he and his team needed to come to terms with the current issue before turning their attention to the rest of the tour."I honestly think that the best thing to do is let the dust settle on this," said Strauss, when asked about the feasibility of the tour continuing. "It's all new and raw and it's easy to get quite emotional about things right at the moment. For all of us, it's better to see how things pan out - clearly the ICC, ECB and Pakistan Cricket Board have to sit down and put their heads together, and decide what the best way forward is, and we as a cricket team we have to take stock as well.
When asked if he was happy to carry on playing against a team that has been accused of deliberately underperforming, Strauss offered a response that was non-committal at best. "It's just so hard to say with incomplete information at this stage," he said. "From our point of view we are going to sit down and have a couple of drinks and celebrate the fact that we won the series tonight. And then in the next few days I'm sure a lot of things will become a lot clearer."
The ultimate decision, he added, would be made at boardroom level. "That's something for the ICC, the ECB and the PCB to sit down and decide what the best way forward is. Clearly there are going to be some very strong reasons for the series to go ahead, but they've also got to sit down and think about what the right thing to do is, going forward, and that's their decision."
Pakistan's manager, Yawar Saeed, however, insisted that the itinerary would continue as planned, with a one-day warm-up against Somerset at Taunton scheduled for Thursday. "As far as I'm concerned the one-day series is on," he said. "We are driving to the West Country the day after [Tuesday]."
Strauss added that whatever the outcome he hoped cricket would emerge better from its latest crisis. "I hope this time things can be proved categorically - and if that leads to a cleaner sport in the future that can only be a good thing."
The allegations of spot-fixing that broke at the close of play on Saturday completely overshadowed the final morning of the fourth Test, in which England wrapped up Pakistan's last six wickets to win by an innings and 225 runs. The matter is currently being investigated by the police, who have seized mobile phones belonging to Salman Butt, the captain, and his two main bowlers, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif.
Yawar, the manager, confirmed that phones had been removed. "Telephones yes, only these three gentlemen. The police have taken their mobile phones away," he said. "The skipper [Butt], and Asif and the third one was Mohammed Amir".
Pakistan lost the Test on Sunday by a record margin and after the match Butt rejected the idea of stepping down from the captaincy. "These are just allegations, anyone can say anything about anyone, that doesn't make them true," he said.
The issue has already escalated to the highest levels of the PCB. PTV, Pakistan's state broadcaster, quoting official sources, said that the President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari, who is also patron of the PCB (who appoints the chairman), has taken strong notice of the spot-fixing scandal and has asked the PCB to submit a detailed preliminary report.
This was confirmed by a PCB press release, which indicated that Ijaz Butt has been in contact with the offices of both the President and Prime Minister of Pakistan. The release also explained that the Pakistan High Commission sought to get involved in the investigation and had sent a request to the British Foreign Office. The PCB stressed that no players or officals had been arrested and that it remained fully committed to helping with police inquiries.
News of the World claimed that seven Pakistan players were involved, though only four have been named so far. Saeed confirmed to Cricinfo that "one or two were questioned by Scotland Yard," last night soon after the story broke. He dismissed reports that the passports of several players had been taken away, saying that all passports were in the possession of the team management.
