Pakistan cricket authorities Friday completed an investigation into why suspended paceman Mohammad Aamer, facing charges of spot-fixing, played in a domestic match. The International Cricket Council (ICC) had asked for clarification from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) as to how the 18-year-old reportedly featured in a match between Rawalpindi and Pakistan Army on Monday.
Under the ICC's anti-corruption code, suspended players are not allowed to play at international, national or even club level if the side is affiliated to the regional cricket body, which is in turn affiliated to the PCB. The PCB said it had probed Aamer's participation in the match and had sent the report to the ICC.
"The match that Aamer bowled in was an unofficial match between two club sides that are not registered with the Rawalpindi Cricket Association. It was also found that no PCB official was present at the venue when the player took part in the game," said a PCB press release.
Aamer, along with Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif, was provisionally suspended by the ICC in October over charges of spot-fixing during Pakistan's tour of England. The charges followed reports in a British tabloid claiming several Pakistani players took money from a bookmaker to obey orders during the Lord's Test against England in August last year.
The charges were heard by an anti-corruption tribunal of the ICC in Qatar last month and a decision is due on February 5. The maximum punishment is a life ban. Media reports in Pakistan on Friday suggested Butt also played a club match in Lahore last week, but the PCB denied those reports.