Skipper Butt dragged me into spot-fixing, Amir tells PCB

In what has come as a shock to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), budding fast bowler Mohammad Amir has said he was lured and dragged into spot-fixing by suspended Test skipper Salman Butt.

The young left-arm pacer is at present under suspension by the ICC for his alleged involvement in spot-fixing during the fourth Test against England at Lord's last month. So are Butt and Mohammad Asif.

Sources in the PCB said that Amir had told chairman Ijaz Butt that he never wanted to be part of this "business" (spot-fixing) but was forced into it by Butt and Asif. "Aamir had gone to Butt and claimed he was innocent and a victim of the 'seniors' power lobby' in the team," a source said.

Another source revealed that Amir, regarded as one of Pakistan cricket's most promising young talent, had told manager Yawar Saeed about the pressure being exerted on him by Butt.

"Amir's claim is that he did what he was told to do. He is claiming innocence now and says he didn't even know Mazhar Majeed before Majeed was introduced to him by Butt and Asif," the source said.

Quite a few former Test captains, and even Pakistan's former President, Pervez Musharraf, have urged the ICC to show leniency towards Amir, all of 18. But chief selector, Mohsin Khan said he didn't agree with the viewpoint that Amir should be shown leniency because of his age.

"I don't buy this argument because if you can do something wrong at 18, you can keep on doing it later as well. If these three players are found guilty, they should be punished, including Amir," Mohsin had said.

The chief selector insisted that no cricketer was indispensable and there should be no compromise on discipline and commitment towards your team and country.

"Amir must be punished if he is guilty. I just hope that these three are eventually cleared because they have already damaged the reputaion of Pakistan cricket and the country," Mohsin said.

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Chennai Super Kings beat Warriors to win Champions League T20 title

JOHANNESBURG: Chennai Super Kings crushed the Eastern Cape Warriors by eight wickets in the final of the Champions League Twenty20 tournament at the Wanderers Stadium on Sunday.

Spin bowlers Ravichandran Ashwin and Muttiah Muralitharan set up the win as the Warriors were restricted to 128 for seven in 20 overs.

Chennai opening batsmen Mike Hussey and Murali Vijay put on 103 for the first wicket without needing to take any risks.

The result was never in any real doubt although there were only six balls to spare when captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni hit the winning runs.

The win earned Chennai a $2.5 million jackpot and completed a notable double after they won the Indian Premier League earlier this year. The Warriors took home $1.3 million.

Yet the Warriors got off to a flying start, with captain Davy Jacobs hitting 34 off 21 balls after winning the toss.

The South African team raced to 39 for no wicket in the first four overs before Ashwell Prince was bowled by Doug Bollinger for six.

Jacobs was out in the next over when he missed an attempted reverse sweep against Ashwin and was leg before wicket.

After that the scoring rate slowed to a trickle. Ashwin, the top wicket-taker in the tournament, took two for 16 in his four overs and fellow off-spinner Muralitharan took three for 16.

Jacobs hit eight boundaries but the rest of the batsmen could only manage five fours and a six between them, with two fours and a six hit by Craig Thyssen off successive balls in the 17th over.

Vijay made 58 and Hussey 51 not out as the methodically chased down the Warriors total.

Vijay, who finished as the tournament's leading run-scorer, had two let-offs, both from Mark Boucher, the most experienced player in the Warriors team.

The South African Test wicketkeeper missed an edge off Rusty Theron when Vijay was on 15 and fumbled a stumping chance off left-arm spin bowler Nicky Boje when the batsman had scored 34.

TOI

Board President's XI bowlers finally come good

CHANDIGARH: After being outplayed for the better part of the first two days, there was some consolation for the Board President's XI on Tuesday, with their bowlers coming good and Ajinkya Rahane hitting a fluent ton as the three-day tour game against Australia ended in a draw.

However, Australia more then served their purpose of getting a feel of conditions ahead of the first Test, with Shane Watson getting centuries in both innings, the top order firing in unison and the faster bowlers too getting into rhythm.

India opener Gautam Gambhir, who was hit on his wrist by a rising Ben Hilfenhaus bouncer on Sunday, did not take the field, raising doubts over his fitness. However, the doctor attending him here said it was just a precautionary measure and there was nothing to worry about.

In the morning, Australian seamer Ben Hilfenhaus scalped 5-47 to skittle BP XI out for a paltry 177. Gambhir's men could only add 34 runs to their overnight total before the Aussie pacers ran through the tail. Piyush Chawla's brisk 82 (103b; 10x4, 3x6) was the only saving grace in their effort.

Batting second, Australia couldn't quite make use of the time they earned by dismissing BP XI cheaply. Promoting himself to open with Shane Watson, Ricky Ponting (9) struck two crisp bounderies before mistiming a pull shot off Jaidev Unadkat to Umesh Yadav at square leg. After their poor show in the first innings, the Indian bowlers came up with an improved performance, not allowing the Australian batsmen to score freely.

However, Shane Watson continued his good form and slammed his second century of the match. The Queenslander clobbered an unbeaten 104 (121b; 18x4) which should give the Indians enough reason to worry.

Piyush Chawla finally extracted good turn from the flat turf to scalp 3-64 while Pragyan Ojha, Jaidev Unadkat and Umesh Yadav picked up one wicket each as the visitors declared at 187/6. Chasing an improbable target of 516 runs in 41 overs, BP XI scored 174 without losing any wicket as Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara frustrated the Australian bowlers.

Opener Shikhar Dhawan (5) retired hurt after a Hilfenhaus bouncer hit him close to his ear, but thereafter Rahane and Pujara stitched 165 runs together as the Aussie bowlers failed to repeat their first-innings performance. Rahane remained unbeaten on a classy 113 (141b; 18x4, 1x6), clobbering the Aussie spinners, while Pujara justified his selection in the Test squad by scoring 52 with the help of nine boundaries.

Brief scores: Australians 505/8 decl (Watson 115, Katich 104 retd*, North 124 retd*) and 187/6 decl (Watson 104*, Chawla 3-64) drew with Board President's XI 177 (Chawla 82, Hilfenhaus 5-47) and 174 for 0 (Rahane 113*, Pujara 52*)

TOI

Harbhajan Singh doubtful for Mohali Test

MOHALI: Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has been advised rest by doctors here following a MRI test done on him for a calf injury on Monday evening.

Though the Indian cricket team management has not yet taken a decision, Harbhajan Singh could be a doubtful starter for the first Test match of the India- Australia Test series beginning at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) stadium here October 1.

The bowler had come to the Fortis Hospital here after he felt some discomfort due to a calf injury after the practice session with other team mates, hospital sources said.

After initial examination, he underwent the MRI test following which he was advised rest for the next few days, the hospital sources added.

TOI