NZ braced for loss on Pakistan tour

New Zealand Cricket chief executive Justin Vaughan supports life bans for players found guilty of spot-fixing as he braces for a financial hit from this summer's Pakistan tour.

The International Cricket Council yesterday charged Pakistan captain Salman Butt and fast bowlers Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif with various offences under its anti-corruption code, and suspended them fromall cricket until their cases are resolved.

Vaughan said he agreed with a hardline ICC stance if any players were found guilty, as an independent tribunal prepares to hear the cases.

"I think they've got to be dealt with fairly seriously. You'd need to understand the personal contexts around each of them, but I think there's got to be a pretty low tolerance; really lengthy bans, if not life bans," Vaughan said.

But Pakistan's six-week tour, starting with a Twenty20 international in Auckland on Boxing Day, will go on.

Sri Lanka and West Indies are both free of international commitments at that time, but NZC had not explored contingency plans.

"To me, the question will be in terms of the strength of the Pakistani team," Vaughan said. "We certainly haven't looked at any other options in terms of touring teams."

The series was locked in under the ICC's future tours programme, and NZC would still receive the same income from television rights, regardless of the strength of the touring side.

But potential gate takings were the big concern.

Last summer was a bonanza, with nearly 50,000 fans attending two T20 matches against Australia. Vaughan was realistic that the current allegations would hit the balance sheet.

"We're kidding ourselves to think that there won't be some residual impact out of all this, which is sad. It's our only international series of the summer.

"It won't detract from the Black Caps, they will be dead keen to make sure they play at their very best as it is the prelude to the World Cup. But I can understand the public may not be not quite as excited about Pakistan as they otherwise might have been."

Vaughan hoped that not all the Pakistan players were tarred by the allegations, and noted that only three had been charged.

Wellington were known to be in talks with potential Pakistan imports for December's domestic T20 league before the scandal broke, and Vaughan said he wouldn't object to other major associations doing the same thing.

"A blanket ban against Pakistan players doesn't seem to me to be terribly fair. We need to be convinced that those players are appropriate players, but as long as there doesn't appear to be any reason not to allow them, then I think that's fine."

Vaughan said the mood was gloomy at NZC headquarters, but he hoped the judicial process and a few months for the dust to settle might see the sport recover.

"It just puts a dampener on the game. Cricket's had body blows in the past and bounced back and I'm sure it'll bounce back from this.

"Because it's occurring a long way away and you're not quite sure what the next twist in the tail is going to be. It knocks the morale a bit, but we'll be back."

In the latest developments yesterday, Pakistan's high commissioner to London, Wajid Shamsul Hasan, said the three players insisted they were innocent.

He believed they'd been set up after a British tabloid published damning allegations that Aamer and Asif bowled no-balls at pre-arranged times in the test against England.

But the Daily Mail reported Scotland Yard officers were to question Butt over how marked banknotes were discovered in police searches of his hotel room and his locker at Lord's.

- © Fairfax NZ News