Pak judge says his match-fixing report ignored

A former judge who reported on match-fixing allegations in Pakistani cricket ten years ago said Sunday the current scandal had broken out because his recommendations were not put into practice. "The latest shame fell on Pakistan only because my recommendations were not fully implemented," Malik Mohammad Qayyum, a retired judge at the Lahore High Court, told AFP.

A former judge who reported on match-fixing allegations in Pakistani cricket ten years ago said Sunday the current scandal had broken out because his recommendations were not put into practice. "The latest shame fell on Pakistan only because my recommendations were not fully implemented," Malik Mohammad Qayyum, a retired judge at the Lahore High Court, told AFP. "Had my report on match-fixing been fully implemented, this latest episode would not have happened." Qayyum, who conducted a judicial inquiry into match-fixing allegations against Pakistan between September 1998 and May 2000, was referring to the latest match-fixing saga to hit the embattled national team.

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British police arrested a man on Sunday on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers, after the News of the World newspaper alleged a betting scam. The newspaper said some members of the Pakistan team were involved in a match-fixing scam in the ongoing fourth and final Test against England at Lord's. "I suggested the Pakistan Cricket Board keep tight vigil on the players and recommended some of the players should not be given any responsibility in team matters, but some of them are still involved in the team's coaching," Qayyum said.

He said he recommended that players' assets should be examined annually, but the Pakistan Cricket Board was not "strong enough" to implement this. The Pakistani government ordered Qayyum's inquiry after Australian cricketers Shane Warne, Tim May and Mark Waugh accused then Pakistan captain Salim Malik of offering them bribes to underperform during Australia's 1994 tour of Pakistan.