By Richard Boock
CHRISTCHURCH - The often acrimonious relationship between the Australian and Pakistani cricket boards has apparently been set aside - for the moment anyway.
At the end of the first session of the International Cricket Council meeting in Christchurch yesterday, Australian chairman Denis Rogers and his Pakistani counterpart Khalid Mahmood shook hands in a public gesture of good faith, and insisted there was no bad blood over recent allegations of match-fixing and bribery.
Australia's indignation over claims that Salim Malik offered Mark Waugh, Shane Warne and Tim May money to play poorly in 1994 was mirrored by Pakistan late last year, after it was revealed Waugh and Warne accepted money from an Indian bookmaker - apparently for weather and pitch conditions.
However, the cold war between the two cricket boards was yesterday dismissed as a "misunderstanding" by Rogers and Mahmood at a hastily-arranged press conference.
Rogers even went as far as suggesting Australia and Pakistan were good mates.
"I want to reassure the Australian public that there is no bitterness, no angst, but a rather a long and lasting friendship [with Pakistan]," he said last night. "We have a huge respect for Pakistani cricket and I have a huge respect for its president.
He said "communication protocols" had been established between the two countries to ensure there would be no further slanging matches, but stressed no apologies had been sought or offered.
Rogers was a shade more defensive, however, when asked by an Australian journalist if a genuine friendship could include "secrets."
"There's none [secrets] here. If you're suggesting this isn't a genuine attempt to show the world how open we are about this - then you're wrong."
Mahmood said Pakistan had been as unhappy as Australia over the controversy, "but all those misunderstandings have been removed. We hope in future there will not be such misunderstandings and miscommunications."
The Pakistan boss also said he had been misquoted in an article which had him calling for Warne and Waugh to be banned.
"I was shocked to see this interview," he said. "I did not speak to anyone about that."
The executive board spent much of its time yesterday dealing with match-fixing and bribery, but both chairmen said it would be inappropriate to comment on the meeting until it ended this afternoon.
Cricket: Truce ends hostilities in match-fixing war
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.