Malik denies John link

Karachi, June 15: Salim Malik on Thursday denied his relationship with John while repeating his claims that he has never indulged in matchfixing.

"I don't know anyone as John as mentioned by Hansie Cronje in his testimony. Probably Hansie is confusing names because Shane Warne and Mark Waugh knew a bookie by the name of John," Malik, banned for life by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) who reacted on recommendations of Justice Malik Mohammad Qayyum, said from Lahore.

Malik was referring to the two Australians confession that they took money from John `for providing pitch and weather report' during a oneday international in the Singer Cup in 1994.

Malik said he never discussed fixing of the first Mandela Trophy match with Hansie Cronje on the field.

"Hansie is trying to implicate other cricketers for no apparent reason. It is a belated effort to shift the attention of corruption from the present case to the subcontinent. "I feel that since I am down now everyone is jumping on me like hyenas," he said.