Pakistan match-fixing claims cricket sports news

"These allegations of corruption hurt the game of cricket," Strauss said at Durham ahead of Friday's NatWest Series match against Pakistan.

"Every one of them that comes to light damages the game. Ultimately, they are a bit of a cancer that can spread and devalue the game."

Strauss, who did not play in England's facile Twenty20 victories over Pakistan at Cardiff, reclaims the captaincy from Paul Collingwood for the 50-over series.

But although another whitewash seems the most likely outcome, Strauss was confident that it would not be because of Pakistan's lack of effort.

"Despite the allegations that have been out there I still maintain that cricket generally is a very clean sport and two teams are playing to beat the other 100 per cent," Strauss said.

"If I can allay fears, there is no chance, in my mind, that any of these games coming up will not be played in that spirit."

The paying public at Cardiff did not seem to share that view, judging by the poor turnout, though as tickets had been on sale months beforehand, it probably was not just the corruption scandal that altered perceptions.

"I think every cricketer in the world has received a short sharp slap in the face to where this game is at the moment and where it needs to be going in the future," Strauss said.

"We need to reconnect with the game for the right reasons. Cricket has survived many controversies over the years and will continue to do so. That's why we need to move on and make sure the game is very clean from now on."

After the spot-fixing scandal broke almost two weeks ago, most of England's players let it be known through the Professional Cricketers' Association, their union, that they would be unwilling to play against anyone under suspicion.

Riaz practised with Pakistan at Chester-le-Street on Thursday and was, according to Yawar Saeed, the team's manager, still available for selection. But then Kamran Akmal, another questioned by the police in the past 10 days, played in both T20 matches.

"All we know is that the International Cricket Council have sufficient grounds to suspend three players but not more at this stage," Strauss said.

"In that sense we are happy to play on. From our point of view we are looking to move on to playing cricket again. I think that's an important thing to stress.

"While obviously not diminishing the importance of these allegations, we need to make sure we get back on the pitch and make sure the game moves forward in the right way."

With only a dozen one-day matches left before the World Cup next February, England should really be formalising their line-up.

But the omission of Craig Kieswetter, after a loss of form, and the rehabilitation of Kevin Pietersen in county cricket, have allowed others such as Steven Davies and Ravi Bopara – the latter will possibly be preferred to Luke Wright – to show their worth.

Davies is the latest in a long line to try to make a success of the hitting role at the top of the order. Making the most of the powerplays will be crucial in a World Cup played on the benign pitches in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, but it is a very different matter in England, especially in September.

He may also face something he has never done before, a 7ft tall bowler. Mohammad Irfan will probably not be mistaken by tourists hoping to glimpse the Angel of the North, but he towers above most that have played the game.

In normal circumstances he would not play on Friday, having arrived in the country only on Wednesday, but these are not normal times, even for Pakistan.

The visitors could certainly do with a lift following their abject performances at Cardiff.

In theory, and providing Riaz's predicament does not diminish their morale further, the extra overs available should at least allow their batsmen to play an innings instead of the unseemly hack and hope they were guilty of in the T20.

"We were not up to the mark in the last two T20s," Waqar Younis, Pakistan's coach, said. "It has been tough for the last 10 days and what's been happening at home with the floods.

"But we are a tough nation when it comes to this sort of situation. We have to make sure that we stay focused on the game and deliver the goods in these five ODIs."

Waqar also confirmed that the team were trying to cope by not discussing the allegations. "If you keep talking about these things your focus goes off track.

"This is a new series, a new ball game. If we can win this series things will sort of mellow down a little bit and it's important that we should play good cricket because of what is happening in Pakistan."

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