|
|
Change Your Life! |
Bacher begs PCB's pardon |
|
News |
April
30, 2000 NEW
DELHI, Apr 28: South African cricket chief Ali Bacher has said he never
blamed Pakistan for fixing World Cup matches, a senior Pakistani official
claimed on Friday, reports AFP. Bacher has clarified
to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) he did not mention the name of any
country or umpire while telling Australian newspapers on April 19 that a
few World Cup matches were fixed. The PCB official
told this news agency by phone from Lahore that Bacher had written a
letter to the board apologising for the misunderstanding. "Somebody has
played mischief in the whole affair," Bacher was quoted as saying in
the letter. "In my
interview I never mentioned the name of any country or individual umpire
as mentioned by the papers. "I am sorry if
the misquoted news has harmed the feelings of any individual," Bacher
states in the letter. Bacher was quoted by
Australian newspapers as saying that two matches in the 1999 World Cup in
England, one in which minnows Bangladesh upset eventual runners-up
Pakistan, were fixed. Bacher was also
reported to have expressed suspicions about Pakistani umpire Javed Akhtar
over his nine leg-before verdicts against South Africa during the
Headingley Test against England in 1998. Pakistan and Akhtar
reacted angrily to the charges, saying Bacher should substantiate his
claims before the emergency meeting of the International Cricket Council's
executive board in London on May 2-3. ICC president
Jagmohan Dalmiya also wanted a retraction from Bacher, saying he
"will otherwise have to explain why he went public with his
allegation". The Pandora's box of
match-fixing and betting in cricket reopened on April 7 when South African
captain Hansie Cronje and three fellow players were charged by Indian
police for their involvement with bookies during the one-day series
against India last month. Cronje was subsequently sacked as captain after he admitted to taking some 10,000 to 15,000 dollars for providing match information and forecasting results during an earlier tri-series in South Africa. Bangla2000 News |