The three Pakistan cricketers accused of involvement in an illegal betting scam protested their innocence Thursday as they formally withdrew from the scandal-tainted tour of England.

Pakistan's first match since a betting scandal engulfed the team on their tour of England ended with them having just 11 fit players at their disposal on Thursday.

Graham Onions' slim hopes of featuring in England's defence of the Ashes in Australia later this year ended Thursday when the seam bowler was ruled out for nine months with a back injury.

Three Pakistan cricketers accused of involvement in an illegal betting scam maintained their innocence Thursday after withdrawing from their team's scandal-tainted tour of England.

The three Pakistan cricketers at the centre of a betting scandal have been released from the squad for the remainder of the tour of England, team manager Yawar Saeed said Thursday.

Three Pakistan cricketers embroiled in illegal betting allegations were axed from the team's tour of England Thursday as they prepared to be grilled about the scandal.

Three Pakistan cricketers should face a life ban if they are found guilty of being involved in a betting scam, Australian leg-spin great Shane Warne said on Thursday.

Wicketkeeper Brad Haddin was not included in a 15-man squad named on Thursday for Australia's two Tests in India next month.

Australian all-rounder Shane Watson said on Thursday he was "blown away" by the dramatic axing of star England batsman Kevin Pietersen.

Australian allrounder Shane Watson believes players are growing increasingly suspicious of whether the ICC wants to expose the full extent of corruption in the game, fearing the truth could kill cricket, reports said on Thursday.

Three Pakistan cricket players faced a grilling Thursday over allegations they were involved in a betting scam, amid uncertainty over their role in the rest of the team's tour of England.

Bangladesh's cricket board said Wednesday several senior players had been approached by bookmakers ahead of a Test series with India earlier this year.

Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Asif has been dropped from a planned role in a South Indian film after he was embroiled in betting scam allegations, Indian media reported Wednesday.

England national selector Geoff Miller was decidedly unimpressed by Kevin Pietersen's foul-mouthed Twitter rant following his omission from the limited overs squads to play Pakistan.

Australian cricketers Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson were targeted by the same suspected illegal bookmaker who approached two team-mates in England last year, reports said on Wednesday.

The three Pakistan players embroiled in betting scam allegations were to leave the squad Wednesday to face cricket and government authorities, de facto sidelining them from the team.

The three Pakistan players engulfed in betting scam allegations will be summoned to a meeting in London on Thursday -- effectively ruling them out of the team's warm-up match here.

England World Twenty20 winning wicketkeeper Craig Kieswetter is set to play as a batsman only in the upcoming two T20s against Pakistan, it was announced on Tuesday.

Young Indian cricketers were on Tuesday warned of the perils of corruption following the illicit gambling allegations levelled against the Pakistani team in England.

The latest gambling allegations to hit Pakistani cricket have left observers to ponder why the country's players are so prone to get embroiled in financial sleaze.

Former Pakistan cricket captain Younis Khan Tuesday served a legal notice on British newspaper The Daily Telegraph for linking him with a spot-fixing scam involving seven national team players.

A Pakistan court Tuesday summoned seven national cricket players, the country's sports minister and its cricket chief to face treason charges over fixing allegations in England.

Pakistan cricket great Imran Khan on Monday said the sport was headed for crisis with the careers of top players in jeopardy over their alleged involvement in a gambling scam.

The sister newspaper of the tabloid which made the betting scam allegations engulfing cricket called Tuesday for Pakistan to be sent home from England.

England cricketers Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad insisted Tuesday that the limited overs internationals against Pakistan should go ahead despite the betting scam allegations engulfing the tourists.

International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive Haroon Lorgat urged the world game not to give up on Pakistan after several of their players were embroiled in spot-fixing allegations.

England are due to name their squads for Twenty20 and one-day series against Pakistan at midday (1100 GMT) on Tuesday despite the spot-fixing row engulfing the tourists.

Betting scam allegations swirling around the Pakistan team are raising serious doubts over the ability of cricket's global anti-corruption watchdog to snuff out problems blighting the game.

Cricket's world governing body promised swift action if betting scam allegations against Pakistan were proven as preparations began Tuesday for one-day internationals which some insist should not go ahead.

Cricket's world governing body on Monday vowed to take swift action if betting scam allegations against Pakistan were proven as damaging claims threatened the sport's credibility.

Cricket Kenya said on Monday it had reached an agreement over new contracts with 14 national team players, ending a two-month dispute that had threatened to derail the sport.

Pakistani cricket lovers Monday protested at the match-fixing scandal by pelting tomatoes at donkeys labelled with the names of top national players embroiled in the allegations.

The former head of cricket's governing body on Monday called for swift action over match-fixing allegations involving the game's top national players.

Pakistan's press Monday said a match-fixing scandal involving top cricketers was an act of shameful betrayal for a flooded, terror-hit nation that worships the game.

International Cricket Council president Sharad Pawar on Monday ruled out any action against Pakistani players over a match-fixing scandal until investigations are completed.

Spot-betting at the centre of allegations against Pakistani cricketers is widely prevalent and harder to detect than a fixed match, regular gamblers in India said on Monday.

India's cricket board on Monday reacted cautiously to the spot-fixing scandal around the Pakistan team, saying the world governing body would deal with it.

Former ICC boss Malcolm Speed said Monday there was a compelling case to suspend Pakistan from world cricket after explosive match-rigging allegations hit the national team.

He may be a proven ball-muncher and pitch scuffer but Shahid Afridi is now charged with leading Pakistan out of the mire of a corruption probe and to victory in one-day series against England.

England players have all season repeatedly tried to deflect attention away from their upcoming tour of Australia.

Australian cricket officials Monday expressed shock at a match-fixing scandal engulfing Pakistan and said they were awaiting evidence that this year's bizarre Sydney Test was rigged by bookmakers.

Britain's newspapers said cricket's reputation was on the line in the alleged betting scam scandal, as they called for anyone found guilty to be thrown out of the game.

Former Pakistan and England cricket captains said Monday the game must be purged of corruption, with the betting scam allegations engulfing Pakistan exposing deeper concerns about the sport.

Pakistan players have been implicated in explosive newspaper allegations which led to the weekend arrest of Mazhar Majeed, a property developer and players' agent, on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers.

Pakistan's cricket team were embroiled in an alleged betting scam Sunday after British police arrested a man on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers during a Test match against England.

Pakistan captain Salman Butt insisted he would not be resigning after being implicated in an alleged betting scam which has rocked cricket.

Kevin Pietersen has admitted his morale has been "hammered" by his failure to score a Test century in the last year-and-a-half.

England won the fourth and final Test against Pakistan by an innings and 225 runs at Lord's here on Sunday and so took the series 3-1.

A former judge who reported on match-fixing allegations in Pakistani cricket ten years ago said Sunday the current scandal had broken out because his recommendations were not put into practice.

The fourth Test between England and Pakistan resumed as scheduled at 11am local time (1000GMT) here Sunday despite Pakistan being embroiled in an alleged betting scam.

Pakistan cricket has been hit by a multitude of woes from doping and infighting to ball-tampering and bad governance but now faces its most severe test after new charges of match-fixing.

Pakistan was left reeling on Sunday by the latest allegations of match-fixing to plague the country's beloved cricket team with former stars and officials demanding life bans for any players implicated.

Pakistan's embattled cricket team were embroiled in allegations of match-fixing on Sunday after British police arrested a man on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers.

Police said Saturday they had arrested a man on suspicion on conspiracy to defraud bookmakers following newspaper allegations of match-fixing in the ongoing Test between England and Pakistan.

Jonathan Trott and Stuart Broad set a new world record for the eighth wicket as England continued their astounding fight back in the fourth and final Test against Pakistan at Lord's here on Saturday.

Stuart Broad couldn't resist having a sly dig at father Chris after his maiden Test century helped turn England's series finale against Pakistan on its head at Lord's on Friday.

Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara elected to bat after winning the toss against India in the triangular one-day series final on Saturday.

Mohammad Aamer removed Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood and Eoin Morgan for ducks as England's top-order collapsed in the fourth and final Test against Pakistan at Lord's here on Friday.

England bowler Ryan Sidebottom will leave Nottinghamshire at the end of the season after failing to agree a new contract.

Senior Australian batsman Mike Hussey said Thursday he has a "very good feeling" about winning back the Ashes from England in the five-Test home series later this year.

Overnight and early morning rain delayed the scheduled 10.30am local time (0930GMT) toss in the fourth and final Test between England and Pakistan at Lord's here on Thursday.

England will host Test and one-day series against both Sri Lanka and India in 2011, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced Thursday.

Young Indian batsman Virat Kohli was on Thursday fined 15 percent of his match-fee for showing dissent at an umpire's decision during a tri-series match.

Matthew Mott has been told he will have to resign as coach of New South Wales if he accepts an offer to join new Indian Premier League franchise Kochi, reports said Thursday.

Both sides head into the fourth and final Test between England and Pakistan here at Lord's confident they can make the other collapse.