12 January,2011 08:32 AM IST | | AFP
An anti-corruption tribunal against Pakistan cricketers Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir ended yesterday with no decision and a further hearing scheduled for February 5.
The three face charges of spot fixing during Pakistan's tour of England last year in a scandal that rocked the sport. It is alleged that they conspired in the bowling of deliberate no-balls in the Lord's Test ufffd claims they all deny.
They were provisionally suspended by the ICC in September, with the world governing body's code of conduct carrying a minimum five-year ban and maximun life out of the game if corruption charges are proved.
The hearing began last Thursday but Michael Beloff, commissioner of the three-man independent tribunal, said they needed more time to consider the issues.
"The tribunal have throughout been very conscious of the importance of these proceedings to the three players and the wider world of cricket," he said in a statement read to media.
"Representations have been made to it to reserve any decision on the charges still before it until it has had sufficient time to give the issues careful consideration and until it is able, at the same time as handing down its decision, to provide written reasons.
"The tribunal has therefore determined to continue its deliberations and hold a further hearing in Doha on the fifth of February of this year, at which its decisions will be handed down to the parties and any consequential matters will be dealt with.
None of the players or their lawyers were immediately available for comment although fast bowler Amir told reporters earlier in the day that it had been one of the hardest times of his life.
"You can see my eyes are sore because I have not been able to sleep for the last few days," he said.
"I have been talking to my parents and they have tried to raise my confidence. I know a lot of people are praying for me because its a matter of my career."
