Accusations have emerged from a cricket agent regarding his involvement in bribery for fixing matches in Pakistan, asserting that Australian players were also linked to betting frauds.
Mazhar Majeed, 36, disclosed to an undercover journalist that the Australians were considered “the biggest” players involved in match rigging, as revealed in court.
He alleged that match fixing had persisted “for centuries,” pointing to former Pakistan fast bowlers Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis as supposed contributors.
Furthermore, Majeed claimed familiarity with Hollywood star Brad Pitt and tennis legend Roger Federer, saying he could arrange their promotion of a proposed cricket tournament in the United Arab Emirates, according to court testimony.
Covert recordings were played to the jury, featuring discussions between the London-based agent and ex-News of the World reporter Mazher Mahmood, who was pretending to be a wealthy Indian businessman in search of major international players for the tournament.
On August 18 last year — during the opening day of Pakistan’s Test match against England at the Oval — Majeed met with Mr. Mahmood at a West London restaurant. Afterward, they took to the undercover reporter’s car to further discuss match-fixing, the court learned.
In the recorded conversation, Majeed mentioned well-known former Pakistan cricketers, stating: “It’s been happening for centuries. It’s been happening for years. Wasim, Waqar, Ijaz Ahmed, Moin Khan – they all did it.”
He went on to assert that Australian players would fix “brackets,” which refer to specific segments of a match that gamblers place bets on, such as the total runs scored.
In the court audio, he stated: “The Australians, they are the biggest. They have ten brackets a game.”
Majeed lamented that Pakistani cricket players received merely “peanuts,” contrasted with the “very big money” available through match-fixing.
He informed Mr. Mahmood that obtaining information about a bracket would cost between £50,000 and £80,000, while fixing the outcome of a 20-20 game would fetch £400,000, a one-day international would bring £450,000, and rigging a Test match result would command £1 million.
Additionally, he told the journalist about managing ten Pakistani cricketers along with “a couple of Indian players,” Australian fast bowler Nathan Bracken, and West Indian all-rounder Chris Gayle.
Majeed proudly stated that he was acquainted with “all the agents,” including the representative of former Australian captain Ricky Ponting.
Mr. Mahmood provided his testimony to the court from behind a protective screen isolating him from the public audience.
