Majeed's claim about Oz cricketers being 'biggest' match fixers 'true': Basit Ali

KARACHI: Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has backed alleged bookmaker Mazhar Majeed's claims that Australian players were "the biggest" when it came to rigging games.

Australia was dragged into the 'fixing' controversy when sports agent Mazhar Majeed, cricketers, claimed on the tape that Australian players would fix "brackets", one of five particular periods during a one-day international that bookies liked to accept bets on.

"The Australians, they are the biggest. They have 10 brackets a game," he said in the tape played to the court.

Claiming match-fixing had been going on "for centuries", Majeed also named celebrated former Pakistan fast bowlers Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis as alleged participants.

"It's been happening for centuries. It's been happening for years. Wasim, Waqar, Ijaz Ahmed, Moin Khan - they all did it," he was quoted as saying.

At an earlier meeting with the undercover journalist at the Hilton hotel in Park Lane, London, on August 16, 2010, Majeed claimed that he could recruit Hollywood star Brad Pitt, tennis ace Roger Federer and other celebrities to bring some glitz to the proposed UAE cricket tournament.

He also told the reporter that he managed ten Pakistan cricketers, as well as "a couple of Indian players", Australian fast bowler Nathan Bracken and West Indian all-rounder Chris Gayle.

While many of Majeed's shocking claims revealed during the spot-fixing hearing may have been attempts at impressing the undercover journalist, his comments regarding Australian players being the 'biggest match-fixers' were entirely true, according to former Test cricketer Basit Ali.

Cricket Australia and its players have denied Majeed's allegations, however, Basit insisted that what the agent had said about the Australians was true.

"Majeed has told the truth about them. They're the biggest fixers," The Express Tribune quoted Basit, as saying.

He claimed that Australia's World Cup match against Zimbabwe earlier this year was an example of their corrupt practices.

"They scored 26 runs off the first 10 overs with batsmen like Watson and Brad Haddin at the crease. It was a perfect example of fancy fixing," he added.

 

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