Kaneria's ban appeal adjourned

Danish Kaneria's appeal against the lifetime ban given to him by the ECB was adjourned in London on Monday and is unlikely to resume until the New Year.

The adjournment came following legal submissions from both sides and a new date for the hearing will be agreed in due course. Mervyn Westfield was not present on Monday.

Kaneria was punished by an ECB disciplinary panel in June for his role in the spot-fixing case involving Westfield when the two were team-mates at Essex in 2009. Westfield was jailed for four months for his part in conceding a set number of runs in an over during a CB40 match against Durham.

Westfield, who was banned for five years but can play club cricket after three, gave evidence against Kaneria at the initial ECB hearing, revealing details about how the former Pakistan legspinner introduced him to an Indian businessman known as Arun or Anu Bhatt.

Kaneria, who had been warned about Bhatt's alleged connections to illegal betting, admitted putting the two in contact but claimed he had been trying to distance himself from Bhatt.

The PCB said in July that Kaneria would be suspended from playing until the outcome of the appeal was known.