Rape investigation closed by Pakistan board

The Pakistan Cricket Board has closed its investigation into claims that one of its players committed a rape on a woman in Australia after it found no evidence to support the claims.

Neither has a formal complaint been made, as Victoria police clarified on Sunday evening.

"The chapter is closed as far as the PCB is concerned after we found no evidence of any such incident," the board spokesman Abbas Zaidi told the AFP news agency. "Some of the international channels sought cheap publicity through this case to demean Pakistani cricket, which was very disappointing and we condemn that."

The allegation first came to light on January 21, when it was revealed that the woman involved had reported the incident to a suburban Centre Against Sexual Assault, but had not made a formal police complaint. The incident was alleged to have happened during the team's stay in Melbourne for the Boxing Day Test.