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British sleuths to quiz Khetrapal

British detectives will soon fly to India to question Indian sports promoter Aushim Khetrapal about charges that he tried to persuade members of the England team to throw a Test match.

According to a Scotland Yard spokesman, the whole England team would also be quizzed over the bribe allegations.

The News of the World reported that Khetrapal had offered England bowler Chris Lewis 300,000 pounds to fix the Old Trafford match against New Zealand in August. When Lewis refused, the paper claims that Khetrapal contacted New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming.

Kheterpal is reported to have arrived in England with an unnamed Indian businessman and checked into the Holiday Inn in Leicester where the New Zealand team was staying. He later offered Fleming 300,000 pounds to fix the match. The paper said he left his phone numbers and gave Fleming his card. The New Zealander reported the incident immediately to the International Cricket Council.

Khetrapal is then reported to have travelled to London, where he met Lewis and asked him to offer wicketkeeper Alec Stewart and bowler Allan Mullally 300,000 pounds apiece to drop catches and bowl wide. He also offered Lewis the same amount the paper said.

"I was introduced to some people who had what they called a business proposal - but it was a bribe wrapped up as a business proposition,'' Lewis told the newspaper.

"That shows the state of mind of these people - I suppose to them it is a business. If they are offering 300,000 pounds at the bottom of the chain there must be an awful lot of more money involved in it.''

Lewis added that the men who made the offer were aware that getting at the wicketkeeper and bowler knew how to fix a match.

"You can lose a match like that. For instance, in a one-day game if a keeper goes out and makes no attempt or drops catches off one end he has a major effect on the actual runs scored.

"You can't bribe someone to play brilliantly - but what you can do is generally get them to cock things up,'' said Lewis.

Agencies