Yawar Saeed has resigned as Pakistan team manager following the side’s recent disastrous tour of England. His decision comes as no surprise after the ‘spot-fixing’ row which dogged the tour and the team’s performances. Pakistan were beaten on all fronts, losing the Test, one-day international (ODI) and Twenty20 series.
Saeed, 75, had managed the Pakistan team on numerous tours since the 1970s and was a member of the committee set up to investigate the poor showing in Australia earlier this year. As the team left London last Wednesday he appeared defiant about his future, saying: “I am not resigned, I’m not resigning and I will not resign.” But a statement from the Pakistan Cricket Board read: “Mr Yawar Saeed has requested to the Chairman PCB to be relieved of his duties as manager of the national team. The chairman has agreed to this request.”
The spot-fixing allegations involved Test skipper Salman Butt and pacemen Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer. All three were questioned by Scotland Yard detectives following a News of the World undercover investigation that alleged spot-fixing during the fourth npower Test at Lord’s. Butt, Asif and Aamer were provisionally suspended by the International Cricket Council and returned early to Pakistan.
The crisis deepened after the Sun newspaper claimed it had received details of scoring patterns of the third NatWest one-day international well before the start of play – Skynews
