Watson blog

England bowler Broad has no sympathy for Pakistan

CARDIFF (AFP) – Stuart Broad said on Monday that he had no sympathy for the Pakistan players engulfed in a 'spot-fixing' row that has sent shockwaves through the world of cricket.

Pakistan Test captain Salman Butt and bowlers Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif have been suspended from the international game after Britain's News of the World tabloid allegedly caught Mazhar Majeed, a London-based businessman, organising no-balls to order during last month's Lord's Test against England.

England paceman Broad played alongside Asif at English county side Leicestershire and was such an admirer of the Pakistani's skills he'd planned to speak to him ahead of England's defence of the Ashes later this year about how to bowl in Australia.

But asked if he sympathised in any way with the situation the Pakistan trio found themselves in and the media storm encircling the team as a whole, Broad said: "Sympathy? No.

"At the end of the day as cricketers you've got one job and that's to perform on the pitch," added Broad, speaking to reporters at Sophia Gardens here on Monday ahead of the second Twenty20 international against Pakistan at the ground on Tuesday.

"There's always distractions in international cricket, probably more than most this week, but as players you've got to be able to shut things out and focus on what you've got to do," said Broad, a member of the England side that beat Pakistan by five wickets in Sunday's first Twenty20 international here.

"The Pakistan team, there's a lot of hype around them at the minute but at the end of the day that's not our problem.

"We've just got to go out there and try to win."

Turning to Asif, he added: "It's a difficult position and hard to comment on. He's a lovely fellow, I got on really well with him and he's obviously a world-class bowler.

"I only played about three games with him I think. But he talked about getting close to the stumps and bowling wicket to wicket. He was fantastic to learn from.

"Throughout this series I was saying to him, 'At the end of this series I would like to have a chat with you about Australia,' because he got a six-for (six for 41) in Sydney (in January). But with him being left out of the squad now, it's probably not going to happen."

Broad said that, as far as he was concerned, players were well informed about the dangers of underhand approaches.

"We're very educated on this sort of anti-corruption stuff," he said.

"I don't think any player could ever have an excuse -- 'I didn't know', or 'We weren't educated'," insisted Broad, who added most of his information on the subject had come from cricket officials rather than his father Chris, a match referee and former England opening batsman.

"We get hand-outs, handbooks. The amount of books I've got from the ICC (International Cricket Council) at home, full of information -- there's certainly no excuse as players.

"The ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) are pretty strict in regulating everything like that."

"I don't know what other (national) boards do," the 24-year-old said.

"But that's the responsibility they have to take to make sure every player is educated."