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Summary
The captain of Pakistans limited-overs teams has apologised to cricket fans for the controversy that erupted after three of his teammates were suspended on suspicion of match-fixing. Shahid Afridi said that the players in the squad for the remaining two Twenty20 and five one-day matches against England were upset by the allegations, which the International Cricket Council has called the most serious to hit the sport for a decade. On behalf of these boys - I know theyre not in this series - I want to say sorry to all cricket-lovers and all cricketing nations, Afridi said. Crickets ruling body suspended Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir this week while it investigates them for various offences under the sports anti-corruption code. Its very bad news, Afridi said ahead of Sundays first Twenty20 in Cardiff. Its a big challenge for me as captain but were all ready. The coach and I are not talking about the issue - we are here to play cricket. The trio were released without criminal charge after being questioned by London police on Friday but could be banned from cricket for life if found guilty. Meanwhile, England cricket Twenty20 captain Paul Collingwood has urged the authorities to make strong decisions to eradicate corruption from the game.Ahead of England's next clash with Pakistan, Collingwood told Sky News of his disappointment that the series had become overshadowed by the spot-fixing scandal.He said the players want the authorities to do whatever needs to be done to get rid of corruption from the game.Admitting that cricketers do hear rumours of fixing, he said he had never heard anything substantial enough to really think it was going on.His comments come after the three Pakistan players accused of spot fixing were released without charge after voluntarily talking to detectives in Kilburn, north London.Referring to the last game with Pakistan, Collingwood said: I think it's fair to say that was one of the lowest points I've got as a cricketer, being on the pitch there and sensing the atmosphere around the ground, it wasn't a very nice atmosphere to have.Describing the last game as a sad day he said he felt bad that the allegations detracted from Jonathan Trott and Stuart Broad's fantastic performance.However, he said the team were looking forward to playing again and concentrating on bat an ball.
