Pakistan opener Yasir Hameed 'confirms' colleagues fix matches

Pakistan Test opener Yasir Hameed has confirmed that his teammates fixed "almost every game" and claimed that he was dropped from the national team for two years because he did not go along with his corrupt colleagues.

The British tabloid News of the World, which stirred international cricket with revelation of spot-fixing last weekend, today published a conversation between Hameed and its undercover reporter.

It also published several more details of the spot-fixing saga.

The tabloid reported that Hameed provided a "devastating insight into the shady world of betting scams" and added that he refused bribes of up to £150,000 from a corrupt bookmaker to throw matches.

Hameed claimed he lost his place in the team because of this refusal, while his corrupt colleagues reportedly splashed money on plush properties and expensive sports cars.

He spoke to the tabloid in a Nottingham hotel, it said.

"They've been caught. Only the ones that get caught are branded crooks. They were doing it (fixing) in almost every match. God knows what they were up to. Scotland Yard was after them for ages.

"It makes me angry because I'm playing my best and they are trying to lose. The guys that have got done have got themselves killed. They're gone - forget about them," Hameed said about the trio of Salman Butt, Mohammad Amer and Mohammad Asif.

Hameed reportedly said that pacer Mohammad Asif who has played around 50 matches has built four mansions.

"Where did they come from? He has just built a house in Italian style in Lahore. You go there and you will think you are in Italy - that's how good his house is."

"It's because of all these wrong things that I was outed, because I wouldn't get involved," the Pakistan opener said.

"If you sat here and said, 'I'm a bookie and I want you to fix the match tomorrow' - I've met lots of people like that in the past and I refused. They offered me handsome money."

"I could have come to see you in a Ferrari. They give you so much money that you can live out your dreams, buy a flash car. I've been offered huge amounts of money, up to £150,000," the cricketer said.

Since he would not get involved in all these, Hameed claimed: "That's why I was out of the team for two years - two years! Now God has punished them. I played in the (Lord's) match. Even though I flopped, these guys have been caught out".

The cricketer goes on to say that he would have been the captain of a team if he had played for any other country.

"The truth is I've never sold a match for Pakistan. I've always got by on legitimate money. I come from a middle-class hard-working family," Hameed said.

He also claimed that another game had been thrown.

"The ICC Champion Trophy, Rose Bowl, we lost a match against West Indies, do you remember?"

The match in question is a semi-final game in 2004 at The Rose Bowl in Southampton. The West Indies won the match by seven wickets despite posting just 132 runs after Pakistan ended 131 all out.