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ECB confirms tour continues despite investigation

The England and Wales Cricket Broad has revealed that no England players or officials are implicated in the new spot-fixing allegations

Umar Gul bowled Pakistan to victory at The Oval with 6 for 42  •  Getty Images

Umar Gul bowled Pakistan to victory at The Oval with 6 for 42  •  Getty Images

The England and Wales Cricket Board has revealed that no England players or officials are implicated in the new spot-fixing allegations that emerged on Saturday and confirmed that Pakistan's tour will continue for the final two one-day internationals.
The ICC earlier announced it had launched an investigation into the third ODI between England and Pakistan at The Oval after receiving information from The Sun newspaper prior to the game alleging that bookies were aware of certain scoring patterns that occurred during the match. An emergency ECB board meeting was held at noon on Saturday and Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman, has written to the ICC president Sharad Pawar for clarification of the information they hold.
"Following a board meeting held at noon on September 18 the chairman of the ECB has written to the president of the ICC seeking assurances that the ICC does not have evidence which could result in either charges or suspension of players prior to the conclusion of the current NatWest Series," the statement said. "No substantive evidence has been shared with the ECB or the PCB at this stage."
"The ECB board noted the ICC is not stating as fact that anything untoward has occurred, nor has yet been proven in relation to the third ODI between England and Pakistan. The ECB has received confirmation that no England players nor member of management are involved in any allegation linked with ACSU activities.
"The ECB Board reiterated its policy of zero tolerance and strongly supported a full investigation into such allegations. Until the ICC substantiates that any allegations are correct no further action can be taken."
Angus Porter, the chief executive of the Professional Cricketers' Association, said the players would take their lead from the ECB. "We don't have enough facts to make a judgement," he told ESPNcricinfo. "The players will do what the ECB decide."
Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, said there was enough reason to launch an immediate investigation into the match. "A source informed The Sun newspaper that a certain scoring pattern would emerge during certain stages of the match and, broadly speaking, that information appeared to be correct.
"We therefore feel it is incumbent upon us to launch a full enquiry into this particular game, although it is worth pointing out at this stage that we are not stating as fact that anything untoward has occurred. Only in the fullness of the investigation can that be established."
The latest allegations came three weeks after the News of the World broke the initial spot-fixing story during the Lord's Test where Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif allegedly delivered no-balls on demand. The two bowlers, and Pakistan Test captain Salman Butt, were suspended by the ICC and are now back in Pakistan.
Pakistan won the match at The Oval by 23 runs to pull the series back to 2-1. The final two matches will be played at Lord's on Monday and the Rose Bowl on Wednesday.