Former West Indies bowler, Ian Bradshaw, doubts his team’s win in the Champions Trophy semi-finals in 2004 against Pakistan was fixed in the latest allegation of corruption to hit the Pakistan cricket team.
Pakistan batsman Yasir Hameed has been secretly filmed by the News of the World responding to a question about what games he knew had been fixed.
“The ICC Champions Trophy (at the) Rose Bowl, we lost a match against West Indies, do you remember?” said Hameed, who also alleged in the video that some of his teammates frequently “are trying to lose” for money. Hameed denies giving any interviews, but the video was posted on the British tabloid’s website Sunday.
The West Indies won the 2004 match by seven wickets, bowling out Pakistan for 131 and then scoring 132-3 with 21.5 overs. West Indies then beat England in the final.
The 36-year-old Bradshaw, a former left-arm paceman who is now retired, does not believe the match was corrupted.
“I remember that game crystal clear and we won fair and square,” Bradshaw told The Associated Press. “We outclassed them from the first ball to the last. That is my interpretation of it. They won the toss and the ball seamed around as it did at the Rose Bowl in those days.
“It’s a hot topic and he (Hameed) is free to say what he wants, but I remember Shoaib (Akhtar) hitting Brian (Lara) in the neck with a fast bouncer. That didn’t look short of effort to me. It’s a difficult time and I just wish cricket all the best.”
It is the latest twist to an ongoing controversy that began when Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were alleged to have deliberately bowled no-balls for money in the recent Test series against England. Test captain Salman Butt has also been implicated in the ‘spot-fixing.’ The three were suspended last Thursday by the International Cricket Council and questioned by police on Friday. (Jamaica Gleaner)
