THE THREE PAKISTANI cricketers suspended over spot fixing allegations will have their appeals heard in Qatar at the end of the month.

Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif remain provisionally suspended by the International Cricket Council (ICC) following allegations of spot fixing in a test match against England at Lords cricket ground in August.

The News of the World alleged that Amir and Asif had deliberately sent down no-balls at pre-arranged times, with skipper Butt also said to be involved, in order to receive £150,000 from a bookmaker’s “middle man”.

Since then the three players have been suspended from all cricket by the ICC. Their appeals will be heard in the Qatari capital Doha by Michael Beloff QC, the head of the ICC’s Code of Conduct Commission, on the 30 and 31 October.

Meanwhile, the separate criminal inquiry into the actions of the three players remains open.

London’s Metropolitan Police said last month that they had provided an initial file of evidence relating to conspiracy to defraud bookmakers to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). But the CPS cannot proceed with charges until the police investigation is complete.

There is also uncertainty over exactly what charges may be applicable given there may be no “victim” in law. No legal bookmaker in Britain takes bets on the specific timing of no-balls, therefore no bookmaker could have been defrauded in the process.