Ijaz Butt withdraws remark on English players

Ijaz Butt, the beleaguered Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, has withdrawn his earlier statement that England players had thrown the third one-dayer against Pakistan at the Oval.

Butt had said England players were paid “enormous amounts of money” to lose the third ODI match at Oval this month. To this, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) had threatened legal action and demanded an unreserved apology from him.

“I personally, and on behalf of the Pakistan Cricket Board, wish to withdraw the comments I made concerning the England and Wales Cricket Board and each of the England players, who played in the NatWest One Day International at the Brit Insurance Oval on Friday (17 September),” Butt said.

Butt met his ECB counterpart Giles Clarke in London on Wednesday and both the boards issued a joint statement.