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Former coach Javed Miandad Sunday admitted that he had raised suspicion of foul-play in the 1999 Sharjah Cup match against England.

"It's true that I was informed by 'sources' that the match had been fixed. But when I inquired from the players, they rejected the claims, and I have no reason whatsoever not to trust my players," Miandad said from Lahore.

The former captain also said Moin Khan's testimony on Saturday was spot on. "But the impression being created that I had lied under oath hurts me. The factual position is that I had informed the then Pakistan cricket officials and also revealed the same details to the judicial commission of Justice Malik Mohammad Qayyum. "I have got nothing to hide nor do I have to lie about anything."

Miandad, whose loyalty and honesty to Pakistan cricket is beyond any doubt, argued that he didn't highlight the incident at last Saturday's inquiry because he was not asked about it.

"It should be understood that this inquiry is to probe allegations of match-fixing in the World Cup. Therefore, I was only inquired about the two matches of which I told the honourable court that neither was I the coach, nor did I watch the games.

"I was asked about Javed Akhtar's umpiring (in the 1998 Headingley Test between England and South Africa) and I informed the court that though Javed made a couple of wrong decisions, they were purely human errors," Miandad said.

Prof Sirajul Islam Bukhari, who was the manager of that team, also rejected newspaper reports that Moin had lifted the bat to hit Javed Miandad.

"When the issue was raised, the senior players politely told Javed Miandad that they didn't expect this from him particularly when he was the coach of the team. Neither any hard words were exchanged nor any hostile act by any player was committed," Bukhari said.

Miandad also rejected claims that he had been forced to resign after the tournament, a couple of weeks before the World Cup after he doubted the integrity of his players and failed to substantiate his allegations.

"That's untrue. I resigned because I read heart-breaking reports which were published in a section of the media immediately after the team returned. There was no way I was to be sacked because the team had done wonders," he said.

According to those reports, Miandad had not distributed cash awards and prizes amongst the players which were announced by a businessman at an exclusive dinner reception. The players had raised eye-brows because prior to that function, wherever they went, they had returned with costly gifts.

According to highly placed sources, Miandad had raised match-fixing suspicion against Wasim Akram, Moin Khan, Saeed Anwar, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Azhar Mahmood and Ijaz Ahmad.

Sources added that prior to the start of the match, Miandad called Shahid Afridi and asked him privately if there was any truth to those reports. Afridi later leaked his discussion with Miandad to senior players who got irked.

Sources further stated that the following day, Miandad raised the issue with the then chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Khalid Mahmood who assured him before his council members that he was willing to replace the entire squad if Miandad provided evidence.

"The following day, Pakistan lost to India. When Miandad was inquired by the PCB, he said the match was not fixed. At that stage the players objected that in one match Miandad was raising suspicion but on the following game, he had no doubt though the results were the same," sources said.

© Dawn