Pakistani verdict deferred

Doha - The verdict on corruption charges against three Pakistan players has been deferred until February 5 by the ICC on Tuesday.

A three-man tribunal leading a hearing since Thursday, was expected to make a ruling on Tuesday, but it said it wanted more time to consider the issues in regard to former captain Salman Butt and fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and 18-year-old Mohammad Amir, who face life bans for alleged spot-fixing in one of cricket's worst scandals.

The trio was alleged to have accepted payments for bowling no-balls at prearranged times in the fourth Test against England at Lord's at the end of August, and within days they were suspended by the ICC and charged with corruption.

However, the tribunal acquitted Asif and Amir of all charges relating to the third Test at The Oval, and Butt of all but one charge.

The charges had never been made public until Tuesday, and the tribunal did not say what the trio was accused of doing in that match.

Michael Beloff, chief of the ICC's code of conduct commission, and the head of the tribunal including Albie Sachs of South Africa and Sharad Rao of Kenya, said it was conscious of the importance of the hearing for the players and cricket.

"Representations have been made to reserve any decision on the remaining charges until it has had sufficient time to give the issue the most careful consideration, and until it is able, at the same time as handing down its decision, to provide written reasons," he said.

"This was not be feasible within the timetable agreed for this hearing in Doha."

Beloff added the tribunal would reconvene in Doha on February 5 when "its decisions will be handed down to the parties, and any consequential matters will be dealt with."

The players, he said, remain suspended from cricket.

Butt, Asif and Amir, who have played 70 tests among them since 2003, have repeatedly claimed their innocence.

They refused to comment as they left the office tower where the hearing was held.

However, an assistant to Butt's lawyer said: "On behalf of Salman Butt he would like to thank you all for support, well wishes and assistance that I've received over the last few months and in particular the last few days. ... At this current moment we are not in a position to answer any questions."

In Pakistan, where the hearing has topped the news for most of the day, at least one former player was dismayed the trio would have to wait several more weeks to learn their fate.

"It's not fair for the players," former Test cricketer Sarfraz Nawaz said. "If the decision had to be deferred then the players should have been allowed to play international cricket. At the most, Beloff should have taken a day or two to reach the verdict. One month is too long."