Players should have phones tapped, says Haider

| Friday November 12, 2010 00:00

In an extraordinary press conference he said that, if the ICC wants to eradicate match-fixing from international cricket, it will need to start monitoring the phone conversations of all international players and tracking their activities off the pitch.

'The best way is to record all the players' phones and record where they are going,' said Haider. He refused to accuse any of his Pakistan team-mates of fixing matches, saying: 'I don't want to blame anyone, I don't want to be negative to anyone.' But he did say that 'a lot of people are involved' in match-fixing and that he was willing to co-operate fully with the ICC's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit. 'Whether I play cricket or not, I just want cricket to be clear of fixing.' Haider reiterated the threat that had been made to him before the fourth ODI against South Africa. He was warned by a bookmaker he had never met before that, if he did not help fix that match and the one that followed it, then he would not play for Pakistan again. 'I was told: 'If you work with us, we will give you a lot of money. If not, we will not select you again in cricket and, if you go back home, we will kill you and your family.''

He accused bookmakers in Pakistan of trying to smear him in these last two days by accusing him of taking bribes and he invited the police to investigate his accounts to prove that the allegations were not true. He also confirmed that he had been approached by bookmakers when he was captain of the Lahore Eagles in 2009 and that they had tried to insist he select certain players for particular matches. He refused to do so. Haider confirmed that he had applied for temporary asylum in the UK, though he says he 'does want any aid from the British government'. He had his first meeting with the UK Border Agency in Croydon Wednesday morning and has another scheduled for 10 December. On Wednesday night he met the Pakistani High Commissioner to discuss his application and the security arrangements for his wife and two daughters in Lahore. The Pakistani Cricket Board have suspended his playing contract, and Haider says that he now plans to play league cricket to earn his living.

Asked if he had decided to retire from international cricket, Haider said he had: 'It is for the best; for now I just want to live in peace.' (Guardian)