LONDON - Pakistan bowler Mohammad Asif said Thursday he was verbally
abused by his then captain Salman Butt before he delivered a no-ball
during the Lord's test against England last year.
The 28-year-old Asif took the stand for the first time on
the 12th day of the spot-fixing trial at London's Southwark crown court.
During the 10th over of the fourth test against England in
August last year, Asif bowled one of three no-balls that were allegedly
pre-determined as part of a fixing conspiracy.
Asif denied taking any money for delivering the no-ball and said Butt's words had put him under intense pressure.
"He said run faster (expletive), and went on to say
something like 'haven't you slept'? Somebody kept shouting. I think Butt
was saying things; that made me lose concentration," Asif said.
Asif, Butt and Pakistan teammate Mohammed Amir are accused
of conspiring with agent Mazhar Majeed to bowl deliberate no-balls. Butt
and Asif deny the charges. Majeed and Amir aren't required to appear in
court.
In a 90-minute exchange, Butt's lawyer Ali Bajwa accused Asif of inventing the exchange with his captain to justify the no-ball.
"Why didn't you say at this point (in your police
interview) that my captain was putting me under pressure and that's why I
bowled the no-ball," Bajwa said.
Asif explained that in his police interview, he had said
that he was not pressured into bowling an intentional no-ball. Instead,
it was the verbal abuse from Butt that made him bowl what he regards as
an accidental no-ball. AP
