The International Cricket Council (ICC) has launched an investigation into yesterday's one-day international between England and Pakistan following allegations that a scoring pattern in Pakistan's innings was prearranged.
The ICC said the investigation was based on information received from the Sun newspaper. The ICC chief executive, Haroon Lorgat, said: "A source informed the Sun newspaper that a certain scoring pattern would emerge during certain stages of the match and, broadly speaking, that information appeared to be correct.
The investigation follows an earlier scandal on the tour, when a players' agent allegedly received money for organising players to bowl no-balls at prearranged times so as to fix spot-betting markets.
Pakistan won the match by 23 runs. It was the third of the one-day series.
The Sun claimed it had passed on the information to the ICC before yesterday's match at The Oval began after receiving details of calls between a Dubai-based match-fixer and a Delhi bookie.
"Cricket chiefs then watched as Pakistan's score mirrored the target that bookies had been told in advance by a fixer," the newspaper said.
The Sun's report said ICC officials began their investigation before Pakistan's innings had ended, and that "it is not thought that the overall result was fixed, only scoring rates in parts of Pakistan's innings".
The ICC said it would work with Sun staff and sources to "ensure full truth surrounding this match is ascertained".
A Pakistan Cricket Board spokesman, Nadeem Sarwar, said: "The ICC has already issued it's statement and we don't think it is appropriate for us to comment at this stage."
The Pakistan team have been dogged by fixing claims throughout the tour. The earlier no-ball fixing allegations resulted in the ICC suspending Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir while a fourth Pakistan player, Wahab Riaz, was questioned by Scotland Yard last Tuesday.
The suspended cricketers had replied to the notices of the ICC, but the game's governing body has yet to set a date for a hearing. That initial fixing controversy had triggered calls from some quarters for the remainder of the tour to be called off.
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