PCB thinking of initiating legal action against Trott

Karachi:

The Pakistan Cricket Board is considering legal action against English batsman Jonathan Trott for his pre-match altercation with pacer Wahab Riaz, hours before the start of the fourth one-day international at Lord's earlier this week.

According to sources, PCB chairman Ijaz Butt had discussed with his legal team over the possibility of filing a legal action against Trott for allegedly calling Riaz "a match fixer" while the two teams were warming up in the nets.

Trott, who played against Pakistan in the Test and ODI series, was involved in an argument and scuffle with Riaz at the nets following which they had to be separated by team officials.

"There is a strong possibility that the PCB chairman will file of a legal case against Trott as what he did warrants a police case in the United Kingdom," one source in the PCB said.

He pointed out that the Pakistan team management had advised Riaz to drop the issue after Trott appeared before the match referee and apologised for his actions.

But the source said that with the England and Wales Cricket Board now threatening to take legal action against Butt for his remarks against English players, the PCB also had to go after Trott.

"PCB Chairman, Ijaz Butt has met with his legal team today and they discussed the mechanism for filing a legal case against Trott," the source stated.

Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi had said after the incident that they had thought about not playing the fourth ODI in protest and also that the team could have filed a police complaint against Trott.

The ECB demanded a "full and unreserved apology" from Butt for his allegations that England players had engaged in match-fixing and said it would initiate legal action if a satisfactory reply was not received from the PCB.

However, the source said Butt was adamant that he will not apologise to the ECB for his remarks.

"In the meeting with his legal team, Butt indicated that he was in no mood to apologise and PCB would contest the ECB claims," the source added.

Pakistan's acrimonious tour to England concluded on Wednesday after the hosts clinched the five-match ODI series 3-2 at the Rose Bowl in Southampton.

Pakistan Test captain Salman Butt and pace duo of Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif were suspended by the International Cricket Council midway through the tour after a sting by a British tabloid claimed that the trio were involved in spo-fixing during the fourth Test at Lord's.

The embattled Pakistan team returned home from England earlier today, to a quiet reception.