........The arrest by Scotland Yard of Mazhar Majeed, a property developer and player agent, has cast a cloud over the extraordinary results in Australia last summer - and over all recent Pakistan cricket matches.

The British Sunday tabloid News of the World obtained proof of spot-fixing in the current Lord's Test against England, and recorded the agent boasting that he had earned $1.3 million from the controversial Sydney Test, which ended in a remarkable come-from-behind victory for Australia.

Majeed claimed that Pakistan captain Salman Butt, bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif, wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal and others would all play to instructions.

Amir and Asif bowled no-balls in the Lord's Test at specific times that the agent had promised, allowing spot bets to be placed.

Pakistan last night suffered its heaviest-ever defeat against England in a sombre last morning at Lords. Officials cancelled all public presentations after the match.

Akmal dropped four catches in the Sydney Test as the Australians made a comeback from a 200-run first-innings deficit. Butt and Asif both played in that game, but Amir was injured.

An investigation by The Australian has revealed that Majeed was with the players during the tour and was in their hotel rooms. He and his brother, Azhar Majeed, are closely involved with the Pakistan cricketers and claim to represent Younis Khan, Abdul Razzaq, Butt, Asif, Mohammad Yousuf, Shahid Afridi, Akmal, Misbah-ul-Haq and others.

There are claims seven players are involved in the betting fixes. Scotland Yard detectives have interviewed a number of Pakistan players, although they have only arrested the agent........

........THE ex-girlfriend of Pakistani cricketer Mohammad Asif has claimed the fast bowler confessed to her that last summer's Australia-Pakistan Test was fixed and told her during the series to "stop praying - we will not win a single match during the tour to Australia".

Veena Malik, a comedian and former model, made the allegations on Pakistan's Express News network during a discussion of the match-fixing scandal, which has outraged the cricket-mad nation as it is experience the worst floods in a century.

Malik said Asif confessed during a phone call he made to her while in Australia that the team planned to throw the three-Test series, but she said she was unaware what Asif's involvement was in the fix.

"When Pakistan started losing in Australia, I jokingly said: 'For God's sake, win a match.' To this, he replied, 'We won't win anything until 2010'," she told the late night Frontline program.

Malik also claimed that before the Pakistan team flew out to Australia last December, Asif made a sudden visit to Bangkok to meet bookmakers there.


"One day, he got business-class tickets and went to Bangkok," she said.

"He told me that he was offered $40,000.

'I advised him not to be part of such activities but he did not listen. Instead, he went ahead and demanded $200,000."

She added: "Since he came back, he has been totally involved in this. Once he told me that the entire Pakistan team is involved. From head to toe, the Pakistan players and officials are involved."

Malik said she had provided details of Asif's travels to the Pakistan Cricket Board as well as information relating to a R15 million ($356,000) loan she made to him, which she claimed was in part used to pay Asif's lawyers, who were working to reduce a two-year doping ban.
Asif's failure to repay the loan caused a public row between them, although they announced a rapprochement at a press conference in May............