With Pakistan desperate to level the series against Australia they are toying with the idea of recalling offspinner Saeed Ajmal in place of Danish Kaneria for the second Test at Headingley. Though the news has not been confirmed sources have indicated that Ajmal's doosra could swing selection in his favour in order to target Australia's left-handers.

There has been some talk about playing Ajmal, a team official indicated to Cricinfo. If the think-tank does favour Ajmal it would be a rude jolt for Kaneria who managed to impress everyone, including Shane Warne, with his control and accuracy at Lord's, particularly in the first innings, and he finished with match figures of 4 for 123 in conditions that favoured the pace bowlers.

But the presence of five left-handers in the Australia line-up could be the clinching factor when Salman Butt, Pakistan's new captain, sits down with his coaches to decide the final eleven on...

Danish Kaneria is free to play for Essex until proven guilty in the spot fixing charges which had resulted in his arrest, ECB said in a statement.
Kaneria and his Essex teammate, fast bowler Mervyn Westfield are under investigation for alleged match fixing in a county match.

But ECB media manager Andrew Walpole said that the investigation into the matter is on and Kaneria had not been suspended either by Essex or the ECB from playing county cricket.

The inquiry is going on and there is no case of Kaneria's registration with Essex being suspended or him being suspended from playing county cricket, Walpole told the Geo Super channel.

Walpole's rebuttal came after some English papers reported that both Kaneria and Westfield have received letters from the ECB, informing them that their registrations will be suspended while the...

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados: World cricket’s top administrator has insisted officials are “extremely vigilant” when it comes to ‘spot-fixing’ after Pakistan’s Danish Kaneria was arrested in a betting probe.

But International Cricket Council (ICC) president David Morgan, in an interview with AFP here in Barbados on the eve of the World Twenty20 final between Australia and England, insisted: “I can honestly say to you that I have no knowledge of any spot-fixing that I am refusing to tell you about.”

Kaneria and a colleague at English county side Essex, Mervyn Westfield, have been arrested in connection with a police investigation into betting, a club official confirmed on Saturday.

Both Test leg-spinner Kaneria, 29, and 22-year-old pace bowler Westfield were questioned on Friday before being released on bail.

It is understood the match under scrutiny was a 40-over win against Durham last September. The...

LONDON: Danish Kaneria, Essex's wrist spinner, and young fast bowler Mervyn Westfield have been arrested by Essex police on suspicion of conspiracy to commit fraud following the police's investigation into alleged spot-fixing in Essex's Pro40 match against Durham last September, a UK paper reported today.

Both men appeared at Brentwood police station on Friday and were questioned under caution before being released on bail until Sept 15, pending further inquiries.

As neither has yet been charged with any offence, both are free to continue playing cricket until then, by which time Pakistan will have completed their Test series against England. That should allow Pakistan's selectors to at least pick Kaneria, with only a modicum of controversy hanging over him.

That series needs Kaneria, though the England and Wales Cricket Board, as full signatories to the...