Danish Kaneria admits guilt over spot-fixing after 6 years

LONDON: Pakistan’s international leg-spinner Danish Kaneria, who for six years has denied wrongdoing in the corruption scandal that left Essex bowler Mervyn Westfield in jail, has finally admitted his guilt.He has admitted his guilt in a spot fixing case for the first time and asked for the chance to make amends.The leg-spinner was banned for life by the English Cricket Board (ECB) in 2012 after his county Essex team-mate Mervyn Westfield was sentenced to four months’ jail for spot-fixing. Kaneria was named in court as the intermediary between Westfield and an illegal bookmaker. Kaneria was never charged.In an interview with Al Jazeera, published in the Daily Mail, Kaneria, 37, who has twice tried to get his ban overturned, says: “I want to apologise to Mervyn Westfield, my Essex team-mates, my Essex cricket club, my Essex cricket fans. I say sorry to Pakistan . . . you cannot live a life with lies.…He adds: 'I have become strong enough to make this decision, because you cannot live a life with lies.'Westfield spent two months at Belmarsh prison in south-east London after pleading guilty to accepting £6,000 from an illegal bookmaker, Anu Bhatt, to concede 12 runs in his first over of a 40-over game against Durham in 2009. He conceded only 10, but still took the cash.On Wednesday night he told Sportsmail: 'This whole chapter of spot-fixing changed my life, but I have never blamed anyone for the terrible mistake I made.'However, opening up about my wrongdoing and telling the truth allowed me to move on. I hope that Danish finds peace and closure by doing this, and I wish him all the best for the future.'Kaneria facilitated the scam by introducing Westfield to Bhatt, but escaped criminal charges after police decided there was insufficient evidence to convict him.The leg-spinner last played for Pakistan in the Trent Bridge Test of 2010, and has not appeared in any first-class game since March 2012, with all international boards obliged by the ICC to respect the ECB ban.

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