Pakistani umpire says match-fixing charges 'rubbish'

formerly CRICKET FOLLOW A Pakistani cricket umpire at the centre of allegations of match-fixing has angrily rejected suggestions that he took money to affect the outcome of a match between England and South Africa two years ago.

The umpire, Javed Akhtar, said the allegations were totally baseless and he was considering legal action against the man who aired them, South African cricketing chief, Ali Bacher. He described the South African as a man of no character. Dr Bacher was giving evidence yesterday to a commission of inquiry in Cape Town into corruption in cricket; he said a lot of dubious decisions had been given during the England-South Africa match. The chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, General Tauqir Zia, has meanwhile rejected renewed accusations by Pakistani batsman, Majid Khan, that the Pakistani team deliberately lost two of its matches against Bangladesh and India in last year's World Cup.

Majid Khan was chief executive of the cricket board until last year.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service