Former Pakistani leg spinner Danish Kaneria was named in court as the go-between who persuaded an Essex player to take part in a spot betting scam.

By Saj Sadiq (17th Feb, 2012)

Former Pakistani leg spinner Danish Kaneria was named in court as the go-between who persuaded an Essex player to take part in a spot betting scam.

Mervyn Westfield, 23, admitted being paid £6,000 to bowl so poorly that a specific number of runs would be chalked up in a county one-day game.

The deal emerged through Westfield's team-mate Danish Kaneria, the Old Bailey heard on Friday. Kaneria was arrested but not charged.

The scam took place in a televised match between Durham and Essex in September 2009.

Details emerged when another Essex player, Tony Palladino, went back to Westfield's Chelmsford flat in September 2009, where the bowler showed him "the most money he had ever seen", prosecutor Nigel Peters QC said.

The court also heard Kaneria, who first joined Essex in 2005, was warned in 2008 by the ICC that he was keeping "highly inappropriate company".

Mervyn Westfield admitted the corruption charge "Westfield was on the verge of the squad, more susceptible for that reason. Less likely perhaps to be able to say no to the club's international star, his future with the club uncertain."

The match was one of the first televised games that Westfield had played in.

Mr Milliken-Smith said Kaneria took Westfield out to dinner with some friends, and said to him that he had a way that the young cricketer could make money more quickly.

He said Westfield felt "pressured" to become involved as discussions intensified.

The day before the game, the fast bowler, then 21, was told that people had bet money on the match and that if he did not agree to the deal they would lose out.

The court was told other Essex players had heard Kaneria mentioning spot-fixing but dismissed what he was saying as "banter".

Former Essex batsman Varun Chopra said that in a phone call in August 2009 Kaneria told him "There's ways of making money, you don't have to lose a game". He ignored the alleged approach.

Westfield pleaded guilty last month to one count of accepting or obtaining a corrupt payment to bowl in a way that would allow the scoring of runs.

Mr Milliken-Smith said Westfield, who has played the sport since he was six, was "an Essex cricketer through and through".

"He bitterly regrets what he has done, he is utterly ashamed," he said.

"The shame and regret he feels is evidenced at least in part by his admissions as to his involvement to this court."

He has received an interim suspension order from the England and Wales Cricket Board.

Kaneria has not played for Pakistan since the 2010 Trent Bridge Test against England. After a poor match he was omitted in favour of Saeed Ajmal and replaced in the squad by Raza Hasan. He has however continued to play domestic cricket in Pakistan for Habib Bank and Sind.

Kaneria has pleaded his innocence since the initial arrest and he was selected for a Test series against South Africa at the end of 2010 before being withdrawn by the PCB because he was not able to obtain the required clearance documentation from Essex police.

Last year Kaneria also filed a petition in the Sindh High Court against the PCB's refusal to clear him. The PCB's integrity committee can now obtain the police investigation records against Kaneria.

Kaneria's future remains uncertain though as he prepares for the Pentangular Cup Final which starts on Saturday. He is scheduled to lead Sind against Punjab in the 5 day match that will take place in Lahore and if he plays it could be his last match, before a possible hefty ban.