Cricket? What cricket? Pakistani cricketers didn't play “for the love of the game” but instead for “money, women and food,” Mazhar Majeed, the disgraced London-based bookie, reportedly claimed at his first meeting with the undercover reporter whose expose has led to Majeed and three top Pakistani players being jailed for spot-fixing during a Test match against England at Lord's last summer.
“I've been doing it with them, the Pakistan team, now for about two and a half years and we've made masses and masses of money,” Majeed said boasting of his close links with the Pakistani cricket team, according to Mazher Mahmood, the journalist who carried out the sting operation for the now defunct News of the World .
In a blow-by-blow account in The Sunday Times , “How I Broke the Cricket Scandal,” Mr. Mahmood wrote that the tip-off about Pakistani players' involvement with Majeed and his betting scam came from “a former member of the Pakistan cricket management team'' who also gave him two telephone numbers for Majeed.
The first number turned out to be that of his wife who wanted to know: “Who are you. How did you get my number?”
Mr. Mahmood claimed personally meeting the three tainted Pakistani cricketers — the former captain, Salman Butt, and fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir — with Majeed at a Lebanese restaurant in west London.
“I nipped inside, shook hands with Butt and other players and then asked Majeed to join me in the car so that I could hand over the £10,000 [he had demanded],” he wrote.
According to Mr. Mahmood, originally, it was the third Test at Oval that was chosen for spot-fixing and Majeed wanted £10,000 to provide details of two no-balls he promised would be bowled the next day. But the next morning “Majeed rang to say that the no-balls were off. The Pakistani coach, Waqar Younis, had reprimanded the bowlers for giving away too many extras the previous day, a fact subsequently confirmed by the coach. They dared not bowl the no-balls. Instead, to prove his control over the players, Majeed said he would get Butt, the team captain, to bat a maiden over, and even called him on another line so that I could hear the conversation.”
The next day Majeed called the journalist to his house in Surrey and, in his presence, “told Butt: The first full over you play, you just make sure you play a maiden, okay? After the second ball, just go and tap the middle of the pitch as a signal.” Butt confirmed that he would follow Majeed's instructions. Once again there was a glitch and the maiden over did not happen. Majeed later said Butt had been unable to guarantee that he would not score in the specified over because the ball was new and could easily fly off the edge of the bat. It reflected just how tough it is to pin down when cricketing incidents are rigged and when they are just chance.”
It was then that it was decided to “spot fix'' the fourth Test at Lord's. Rest is history.
