Aamer in hot water again

Karachi - International cricket chiefs are demanding answers on why suspended Pakistani paceman Mohammad Aamer, at the centre of a corruption probe, played in a domestic club match, an official said on Wednesday.

The 18-year-old Aamer, along with Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif, was suspended over allegations of spot-fixing during Pakistan's tour of England last year in a case that shook the global game.

But media reports in Pakistan said Aamer featured in a domestic club match for Pakistan Army against Rawalpindi despite being suspended from all forms of cricket that come under the umbrella of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

"The ICC wrote to the Pakistan Cricket Board on the matter on Tuesday," an ICC spokesperson confirmed from its headquarters in Dubai.

A PCB spokesperson confirmed they were investigating the issue.

"Yes, we have come to the knowledge of Aamer playing a match in Rawalpindi and we are investigating the matter," PCB spokesperson Nadeem Sarwar said.

An ICC anti-corruption tribunal heard the case relating to the three suspended players in Doha, Qatar, last month and is due to announce its verdict on February 5.

All three were provisionally suspended by the ICC in October, with the world governing body's code of conduct carrying a minimum five-year ban if corruption charges are proved.

The maximum punishment is a life ban.

Their suspension came after reports in the British newspaper News of the World, which claimed several Pakistani players - including the trio - obeyed orders from an alleged bookmaker during the Lord's Test in August.

The newspaper said it paid Mazhar Majeed, an agent for several Pakistan players, 150 000 pounds ($237 000) in return for advance knowledge of pre-arranged no-balls which could then be bet upon.

In a separate case, Majeed and the three Pakistani players face criminal charges for defrauding bookmakers in England. The minimum punishment in the case is ten years' imprisonment.

Scotland Yard has handed two reports to prosecutors in Britain, who have yet to decide on further action.