Rahulan Raj
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England’s victory over Pakistan in the third one-day international in Sharjah on Tuesday is being investigated for corruption.
Following an erratic performance by Pakistan it is understood that investigators from the ICC’s anti-corruption unit have requested data from international betting markets about match-fixing.
England won the match by six wickets after Pakistan collapsed from 132 for two to 208 all out, including three farcical run-outs. They then dropped three catches in the field and missed a stumping.
Officials were tipped off after the toss in Sharjah that the illegal Indian betting market, worth billions of dollars per game, was expecting Pakistan to underperform. It has also emerged that officers were warned about potential corruption before the series began.
Rumours were rife among bookmakers in the country, and the ICC received intelligence that there could at least be an attempt to manipulate the betting odds in favour of syndicates who would be betting huge sums.
THE PAKISTAN COLLAPSE IN TUESDAY'S ODI
19.3 overs Pakistan captain Azhar Ali is run out after a dreadful call for a single from Mohammad Hafeez, who had pushed Adil Rashid to backward point. Azhar was comfortably beaten home by James Taylor’s return.
30.3 overs Sarfraz Ahmed throws his wicket away, slogging Moeen Ali straight to sub fielder Chris Jordan at deep midwicket. It’s the start of a collapse of 7 for 73.
32.2 overs Mohammad Rizwan pushes Ali into the leg side, then sets off for a gentle single while Shoaib Malik remains unmoved at the other end. Rizwan gets halfway down the pitch, and fails to get back before Jason Roy’s underarm throw is collected by Jos Buttler.
35.4 overs Iftikhar Ahmed pulls Chris Woakes straight to deep square-leg and is caught to leave Pakistan 145 for 6.
39.3 overs Anwar Ali slogs Reece Topley straight up in the air. Ali takes the catch: 156 for 7.
41.2 overs The third run-out of the innings. This time, Wahab Riaz and Shoaib Malik get in a muddle – with Malik beaten by Chris Jordan’s pinpoint direct hit.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan used his Twitter account to question Pakistan’s performance.
He wrote: ‘3 run outs and a few iffy shots from Pakistan. Never seen that before!!’ He followed that with: ‘They must all think we are stupid.’
Vaughan, who later deleted the Tweets, was criticised by ex-Pakistan batsman Rameez Raja.
‘Vaughan’s comments are highly irresponsible and I think he is just looking for cheap publicity to stay relevant on social media,’ Raja said.
‘Pakistan’s running has always been bad and we all know Mohammad Hafeez particularly isn’t great between the wickets. The team tends to panic whenever it’s under pressure and it is nothing new.’
An Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) source said: ‘After comments like that we couldn’t ignore it but we also had other reasons to look into it.’
The chief reason is suspicious betting patterns — one of the key signposts for fixing.
The ICC have been told that twice the ‘normal’ amount of money was wagered on Pakistan in a game which attracted more than £20million in bets on Betfair, the international betting exchange.
The day before the Sharjah match, England were rated as strong favourites to win. Seasoned odds watchers would argue that was an extremely rare event for any England one-day team in Asia, where they traditionally struggle.
Pakistan were what betting experts would call ‘virtually friendless’ (no one wanted to bet on them) on Betfair, which Indian bookmakers often use to help manage their accounts.
England's win over Pakistan in third ODI being investigated for corruption unit after suspicious betting patterns emerge |
Following an erratic performance by Pakistan it is understood that investigators from the ICC’s anti-corruption unit have requested data from international betting markets about match-fixing.
England won the match by six wickets after Pakistan collapsed from 132 for two to 208 all out, including three farcical run-outs. They then dropped three catches in the field and missed a stumping.
Officials were tipped off after the toss in Sharjah that the illegal Indian betting market, worth billions of dollars per game, was expecting Pakistan to underperform. It has also emerged that officers were warned about potential corruption before the series began.
Rumours were rife among bookmakers in the country, and the ICC received intelligence that there could at least be an attempt to manipulate the betting odds in favour of syndicates who would be betting huge sums.
THE PAKISTAN COLLAPSE IN TUESDAY'S ODI
19.3 overs Pakistan captain Azhar Ali is run out after a dreadful call for a single from Mohammad Hafeez, who had pushed Adil Rashid to backward point. Azhar was comfortably beaten home by James Taylor’s return.
30.3 overs Sarfraz Ahmed throws his wicket away, slogging Moeen Ali straight to sub fielder Chris Jordan at deep midwicket. It’s the start of a collapse of 7 for 73.
32.2 overs Mohammad Rizwan pushes Ali into the leg side, then sets off for a gentle single while Shoaib Malik remains unmoved at the other end. Rizwan gets halfway down the pitch, and fails to get back before Jason Roy’s underarm throw is collected by Jos Buttler.
35.4 overs Iftikhar Ahmed pulls Chris Woakes straight to deep square-leg and is caught to leave Pakistan 145 for 6.
39.3 overs Anwar Ali slogs Reece Topley straight up in the air. Ali takes the catch: 156 for 7.
41.2 overs The third run-out of the innings. This time, Wahab Riaz and Shoaib Malik get in a muddle – with Malik beaten by Chris Jordan’s pinpoint direct hit.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan used his Twitter account to question Pakistan’s performance.
He wrote: ‘3 run outs and a few iffy shots from Pakistan. Never seen that before!!’ He followed that with: ‘They must all think we are stupid.’
Vaughan, who later deleted the Tweets, was criticised by ex-Pakistan batsman Rameez Raja.
‘Vaughan’s comments are highly irresponsible and I think he is just looking for cheap publicity to stay relevant on social media,’ Raja said.
‘Pakistan’s running has always been bad and we all know Mohammad Hafeez particularly isn’t great between the wickets. The team tends to panic whenever it’s under pressure and it is nothing new.’
An Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) source said: ‘After comments like that we couldn’t ignore it but we also had other reasons to look into it.’
The chief reason is suspicious betting patterns — one of the key signposts for fixing.
The ICC have been told that twice the ‘normal’ amount of money was wagered on Pakistan in a game which attracted more than £20million in bets on Betfair, the international betting exchange.
The day before the Sharjah match, England were rated as strong favourites to win. Seasoned odds watchers would argue that was an extremely rare event for any England one-day team in Asia, where they traditionally struggle.
Pakistan were what betting experts would call ‘virtually friendless’ (no one wanted to bet on them) on Betfair, which Indian bookmakers often use to help manage their accounts.
England's win over Pakistan in third ODI being investigated for corruption unit after suspicious betting patterns emerge |
