PCB settles Qayyum fixing row with Sutherland

The PCB has settled its dispute with Cricket Australia's chief executive James Sutherland over his comments about the Justice Qayyum commission on match-fixing. In April, Sutherland had suggested that last year's spot-fixing scandal - after which three Pakistan players were banned for five years - might not have occurred if the PCB had acted properly on the recommendations of the Qayyum commission in 2000.

An irked Pakistan board had asked the ICC to "investigate" Sutherland's comments but the row has now been resolved without the ICC's intervention. "PCB chief operating officer Subhan Ahmad talked to Sutherland on the matter," PCB spokesman Nadeem Sarwar said. "James clarified that his comments on the Qayyum inquiry were not meant to put PCB in a difficult position. Sutherland explained that it was in response to a question during an interview and not intended to criticise anyone. PCB enjoys cordial relations with CA so we have decided not to pursue the matter any further."

The Qayyum report had several recommendations for tackling match-fixing. The main ones involved banning for life players such as Salim Malik and Ata-ur-Rehman, and fining a host of others, including Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mushtaq Ahmed and Saeed Anwar. Some of these players, such as Akram, were to be prevented from holding any positions of responsibility in or around the team.

Last year, soon after the spot-fixing controversy broke out, Qayyum himself had said the PCB had not been "strong enough" in implementing some recommendations in his report.