18 Feb 2012

English cricketer sent to prison for spot-fixing

12:14 pm on 18 February 2012

An English cricketer who claimed to have been lured into a spot-fixing scandal by Pakistan international Danish Kaneria has been jailed for four months.

The former Essex player Mervyn Westfield had admitted receiving £6,000 ($NZ11,300) to bowl badly so that 12 runs would be scored in the first over of a 40-over match between Durham and Essex in September 2009.

The Old Bailey heard that Kaneria told Westfield he would be paid to concede a certain number of runs in a particular over.

Kaneria was arrested in connection with the case in 2010 but later released without charge.

This case took place against the backdrop of Pakistan players Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer being jailed in Britain last year for their role in a separate spot-fixing scandal in a Test match against England.

The Pakistan Cricket Board withdrew Kaneria after he was selected for the series against South Africa in October 2010 and has since not cleared him for selection, apparently waiting for the Westfield inquiry to be completed.