Kaneria ‘unaware’ of ECB corruption hearing

0
187

Former Pakistan cricketer Danish Kaneria said Friday he was in the dark about a disciplinary hearing in Britain over corruption that led to the jailing of an English county player.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced on Thursday that the leg-spinner and his former Essex teammate Mervyn Westfield would face a hearing next month.
Westfield was jailed for four months in February after admitting that he accepted money to under-perform during a Pro40 match between Essex and Durham in 2009.
The 23-year-old seamer named Kaneria — arrested in 2010 but released without charge — as the link between the bookmaker and the players.
Kaneria, who has not played for Pakistan since the Nottingham Test against England in August 2010, said he had not been informed about the hearing.
“I just got to know about a disciplinary hearing from the media,” Kaneria told AFP.
“Once I get the official letter from the ECB then only I will consult with my lawyer and decide how to go about it.”
Kaneria faces a worldwide ban from the game if found guilty by the hearing, where a number of Essex players are expected to give evidence.
The 31-year-old, who played 61 Tests and 18 one-day for Pakistan, is now involved in first-class cricket in Pakistan. He led Sindh in the Pentangular Cup first-class tournament and also played in the Super Eight Twenty20 event earlier this year.
In February this year, the International Cricket Council, the ECB and Pakistan Cricket Board dismissed Kaneria’s claims that he had been cleared in the spot-fixing scandal.