Pak trio questioned over 'calls, SMSes, secret accounts'

London:

The three Pakistani cricketers implicated in the 'spot-fixing' scandal were questioned about the calls and text messages they exchanged with alleged bookie Mazhar Majeed and their "secret accounts" by the Scotland Yard here.

The three players at the center of the row - Test captain Salman Butt and pacers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir - were released without a charge by the Scotland Yard after questioning on Friday.

According to a report in 'the Daily Telegraph', the trio was "questioned by detectives over text messages, phone calls and secret bank accounts linked to alleged match-fixing." Amir spent almost five hours being quizzed by the police and he was reportedly asked about a "message he allegedly sent to Majeed."

"Shall I do it or not?" was the text message that Amir allegedly sent Majeed a night before sending down a deliberate no-ball in the Lord's Test against England last week.

"They were asked about secret accounts in Swiss and British banks, which, according to the News of the World investigation, Mr Majeed said he had set up in their names," the newspaper reported.

The newspaper said Butt, in whose room cash linked to the betting scam was reportedly found, is being suspected the most.

"It has been reported that 50,000 pounds was found in his room by police but he said the money, some in foreign currency, was to pay a dowry for his sister."

ICC's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit chief Sir Ronnie Flanagan has already stated that the evidence at hand has made it clear that the players in question "have a really arguable case to answer in our disciplinary arena."