Pak-Australia Test at Lord's fixed: Report

Scandal-prone Pakistani cricket team's alleged involvement in match-fixing seems to be getting bigger in proportion as reports today claimed that their 150-run loss against Australia at Lord's in July is under investigation by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

A report in the Sydney Morning Herald claimed that ICC is investigating on the possibility of match-fixing in the first of the two-match Test series at Lord's from July 13.

The latest allegation of fixing in a Test match between Australia and Pakistan is a heavy blow after claims that January's Sydney Test between the two sides was also fixed.

"The ICC is investigating the possibility that there are two separate groups of corrupt Pakistani cricketers who are aligned to different illegal bookmakers. Cricket Australia (CA) has not been informed that the Lord's Test in July is also under ICC investigation, but that is standard practice under the anti-corruption unit's secretive investigative methods," the report claimed.

"The ICC has an independent process, and Cricket Australia has put a lot of faith in the ICC's expertise and the processes of that expertise," an unnamed CA spokesperson was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

It is the second recent Test match at the spiritual home of cricket to come under scrutiny for alleged corruption by Pakistani players, after a British tabloid News of the World blew the whistle in the fourth Test against England which, in fact, opened the worst ever crisis in cricket.

Pakistan's Test captain Salman Butt, pacemen Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif were suspended by the ICC over the first spot-fixing allegations that rocked the game.

After that ICC launched an investigation on alleged spot-fixing in the third one-dayer between Pakistan and England last week, this time on the lead provided by another British tabloid The Sun.