LONDON:
Pakistan Fast bowler Muhammd Amir has confessed to his involvement in spot-fixing during Pakistan’s test series in England last year. The bookie who set up the fix, Mazhar Majeed has also confessed in court.
Sources said that the young cricketer had submitted a confessional statement in a court in London.
The spot-fixing scandal was initially exposed by the now-closed British tabloid “News of the World”.
The tabloid had alleged that Amir and fellow bowler Mohammad Asif deliberately bowled no-balls at specific times during Pakistan’s 2010 tour of England in return for payment from a betting syndicate.
The News of the World alleged that an agent affiliated with some of the Pakistani players, later identified as Mazhar Majeed, had accepted a bribe from an undercover reporter Mazher Mahmood for information that Amir and Asif would deliberately deliver no balls at specific points during the match, information which could be used by gamblers to make wagers with inside information (a process known as spot-fixing, compared with match fixing to predetermine a match result).
In the video posted by News of the World, Majeed, was shown counting out the bribe money, and promised that Amir would be Pakistan’s bowler for the first over, and that the third ball of the over would be a no-ball delivery. Amir did bowl the first over, and on his third delivery from the over, bowled a no-ball delivery.
Commentary described the delivery as a “massive overstep”, a good half-metre beyond the popping crease. Majeed also predicted that the sixth delivery of the tenth over would be a no-ball, and the ball, delivered by Asif, was also a no-ball delivery.
It is believed that their confessions will not affect the spot-fixing cases being heard against fast bowler Mohammad Asif and then skipper and opening batsman, Salman Butt.
