Kaneria named in court as go-between in fixing case

LONDON (Reuters) - Former Pakistan cricketer Danish Kaneria was named in court on Friday as a go-between in a spot-fixing case involving former English county player Mervyn Westfield.

Bowler Westfield, 23, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to being paid 6,000 pounds to give away a set number of runs in the first over of a match between his Essex side and Durham in September 2009.

The London court heard that Westfield's Essex team mate Kaneria told him that a friend would pay him to cheat, Britain's Press Association reported.

Mark Milliken-Smith, lawyer for Westfield, told the court: "It is clear, we submit, that Kaneria and his associates targeted Westfield.

"Westfield was on the verge of the squad, more susceptible for that reason; less likely perhaps to be able to say no to the club's international star, his future with the club uncertain."

The court was told other Essex players heard Kaneria talking about spot-fixing while Milliken-Smith told the court a "blind eye" was turned to the rumours.

Westfield, who was playing in one of his first televised matches, received an interim suspension order from the England and Wales Cricket Board.

Legbreak bowler Kaneria, who played 61 tests and 18 one-day internationals for Pakistan between 2000 and 2010, was arrested in connection with the case but later released without charge.

In November, a British court jailed three Pakistani players - Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir - for fixing parts of a test in England in 2010.

The Westfield case has raised fresh concerns about connections between cricket and illegal gambling circles on the Indian sub-continent.

(Writing by Mark Meadows; Editing by Clare Fallon; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)