Thread: Pakistani Players invovled in Match Fixing at Lord's Test Match

A 35-year-old man has been arrested after allegedly being caught offering to fix part of England's current cricket Test match with Pakistan.

Mazhar Majeed allegedly offered to bribe certain Pakistani bowlers to manipulate the game, according to the News of the World (NOTW).

Secret filming appears to show Majeed counting out £150,000 given to him by the newspaper in a London hotel the night, before the current fourth Test at Lord's.

He then allegedly offers to ask certain bowlers to make sure they bowl "no balls" at specific points in the match.

Posing as businessmen from the Far East, investigators from the paper told Majeed that they were planning to bet on when no balls occurred.

The paper alleges that the no balls were delivered during the Test match exactly as described in the video footage.

The NOTW's managing editor Bill Akass told Sky News: "Earlier this month, we received very compelling evidence that an individual, Majeed, was involved in fixing matches.

"We set out to infiltrate his network and that investigation was led by our investigations editor Mazher Mahmood."

Mr Akass alleged: "(Mr Mahmood) was successful in persuading Majeed to accept him into his network and to give us information that would prove he could, indeed, rig matches."

The investigation has been passed to the police who in turn have alerted the International Cricket Council (ICC), the game's ruling body.

Scotland Yard said: "Following information received from the News of the World, we have... arrested a 35-year-old man on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers."

It is unclear how the allegations will impact on the fourth Test, which is due to resume at Lords on Sunday.

But the arrest takes the shine off England's performance as they head for victory in the match.

The series was poised on a knife edge as England held a slender 2-1 lead.

But England look close to an innings victory and a 3-1 series win after taking 14 Pakistan wickets on the third day of the final Test.

The Pakistani side has been dogged by match fixing allegations since the 1990s.

In May, this year, the ICC's anti-corruption unit looked at the team's poor performance after being heavily beaten by Australia during a tour of the country.

The Pakistani cricket board banned former captain Younus Khan and tour captain Mohammad Yousuf for an indefinite period.

Former captain Shoaib Malik and Rana Naved ul Hasan were banned for one year and fined heavily.

Last year, a committee of Pakistan's parliament summoned senior figures from the team to discuss allegations that they deliberately lost a Champions Trophy match to prevent India from reaching the semi-finals.