Kaneria, Westfield ECB hearing postponed

The ECB disciplinary panel hearing into the case against Danish Kaneria, the former Pakistan spinner, and Mervyn Westfield has been put back until the week beginning June 18.

The hearing, which will address charges relating to alleged breaches of the ECB's anti-corruption directives by Westfield and Kaneria, was previously scheduled for May 21 but has been adjourned at the request of Kaneria's lawyers. Gerard Elias QC, chairman of the ECB's Cricket Discipline Commission, will chair the hearing.

Both players were charged last month, in the wake of Westfield's imprisonment, although Kaneria's legal team have already indicated he intends to fight the charge. Kaneria was implicated in spot-fixing during Westfield's trial at London's Central Criminal Court but has denied the allegations.

Westfield, a former Essex fast bowler, was jailed for four months in January after he admitted underperforming in a Pro40 match against Durham in September 2009. Kaneria, Essex's overseas player for several seasons, was named by the judge at the Old Bailey as the orchestrator of the plot but he was never charged by the police, on the grounds of insufficient evidence.

If he is found guilty as part of the ECB proceedings, Kaneria could still face a worldwide ban from the game.