Cricket: Salim bribery claims

THE MATCH-FIXING and bribery allegations which have dogged the game on the subcontinent for months re-emerged yesterday, after a Pakistan cricketer told a judicial inquiry that two members of the national team accepted $100,000 (pounds 65,500) in 1994 to throw a match against Australia.

Salim Pervaiz told Justice Abdul Qayuum, who is investigating the allegations of bribery and match fixing against several Pakistan team members, that he was present when $100,000 was given to Salim Malik and Mushtaq Ahmed in a hotel room in Sri Lanka, where a tournament was being held. The players were allegedly paid to throw a match against Australia, which Pakistan lost. Salim Malik's lawyer dismissed the accusation.

Abdul is also conducting a separate inquiry into allegations of misconduct by Pakistan's cricket team during the World Cup last month. Pakistan's eight-wicket defeat by Australia at Lord's was one of the most one-sided finals since the World Cup began in 1975. They were dismissed for 132 and Australia knocked off the runs in just 20.1 overs. Five days later it was announced that Pakistan's Accountability Bureau would investigate suggestions that their national side deliberately lost the final.