Westfield charged with cricket fraud

London:

Former Essex cricketer Mervyn Westfield has been charged with conspiracy to defraud over claims he deliberately played poorly, England's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said on Thursday.

Westfield is alleged to have dishonestly agreed to bowl his first over in a one-day match between Durham and Essex on September 5, 2009 in such a way as to allow a certain number of runs to be scored.

He is now due to appear at the City of London Magistrates' Court a week on Thursday (September 23).

Westfield was originally arrested in May at the same time as Pakistan and Essex leg-spinner Danish Kaneria.

But Kaneria was released without charge by police on September 8.

Similar allegations, made by a British newspaper, concerning the deliberate bowling of no-balls as part of a betting scam during last month's fourth Test at Lord's led the International Cricket Council to suspend Pakistan Test captain Salman Butt and fast bowlers Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif.

Kaneria played in the first Test against England at Trent Bridge but was dropped from the Pakistan squad after taking just one wicket for 171 runs in a crushing 354-run defeat.

Pakistan officials allowed Kaneria to rejoin Essex and, in his absence, the tourists went on to lose the four-match Test series 3-1.

England have since beaten Pakistan 2-0 in a two-match Twenty20 series and lead the ongoing five-match one-day international campaign between the two countries 2-0 ahead of the third ODI at The Oval, in south London, on Friday.