The ICC is investigating whether Salman Butt has breached the terms of his 10-year ban for spot fixing by becoming a studio pundit for a Pakistan TV channel during the World Cup. Five years of Butt's term were suspended on the condition of him making no further breaches of the code and participating in an anti-corruption education programme under the PCB.
However, just a matter of days after the judgements were handed down in Doha Butt was reported to have joined up with Channel 5, a local station in Pakistan, to act as a studio expert during the World Cup. Because the channel is a non-licensee or rights holder the ICC said it had no power to act against Butt, although the governing body is now taking the matter further.
"We are not satisfied with this appointment and we have written to Tribunal chairman Michael Beloff QC to enquire whether this could be viewed as a breach against the terms of his suspended sentence," Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, said.
The matter was discussed at the ICC board meeting in Dubai on February 15, when enhanced anti-corruption measures were also confirmed with fines now in place for any players or support staff who take communication devices into dressing rooms. It had earlier been confirmed that all members of World Cups squads, including backroom staff, will be banned from using Twitter during games.
Steve Bernard, the Australia manager, is a frequent tweeter during matches but he now won't be allowed to post messages although the restrictions won't be in place outside of games and managers will still be allowed to have their phones in the dressing room.
"This is just a precaution, it's not something we are overly concerned about," an ICC spokesman told AFP. "But we do feel a team manager's phone should be used for operational purposes only during matches. This applies to all teams and this decision has not been taken in response to anything the Australia team manager has said or done previously."
The ICC Governance and Review Committee also discussed various options for the 2015 World Cup, which will be staged in Australia and New Zealand. The tournament will be reduced to a 10-team event and it is currently being decided whether there will be a qualification phase to allow an Associate nation to take part. The move to shrink the World Cup has sparked anger among the Associate countries, who feel they are being marginalised.
It was also confirmed that the 2011 ICC Awards will be held in London on September 12 and the Annual Conference will take place in Hong Kong from June 26-July 1.
