Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria has vowed to do everything in his control to get his name cleared in the scandal, which has led to the jail sentence of county bowler Mervyn Westfield.
Former Essex fast bowler Westfield was handed over a jail sentence of four months by a London court yesterday, after he admitted receiving £6,000 (USD 9,200) to bowl badly so that 12 runs could be scored in the first over of a 40-over match between Durham and Essex in September 2009. Westfield’s lawyer told the court that his Essex teammate Kaneria told him that a friend would pay him to cheat. “I don’t want to say much now on this issue. But it is a incorrect terminology that I have been implicated by the court. In fact, the Essex police cleared me in this case after proper investigations,” said Kaneria.
“I have told my lawyer in London to get the full judgment of the trial and pursue this matter. I will not rest until I am cleared to play for Pakistan again,” he added. “All these allegations are false,” Kaneria said. “I have not only been cleared by the British police, but also by the England and Wales Cricket Board and the International Cricket Council.” “I have been trying my best to clear my name, but so far I don’t know why the PCB suspended me from playing international cricket for Pakistan,” Kaneria said.