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Mervyn Westfield has been issued with a summons from the High Court in London compelling him to appear at Danish Kaneria's ECB disciplinary appeal.
The development is an unusual one and there is some doubt as to whether
the High Court has any jurisdiction in the affairs of a sporting body's
disciplinary procedure. The appeal is currently scheduled for April 22,
with Kaneria expected to travel from Pakistan to England on April 17 to
mount his defence against a life suspension from cricket.
Kaneria, the Pakistan legspinner, was banned and charged £100,000 in
costs by an ECB panel in June 2012 for his part in the spot-fixing case
involving former Essex bowler Westfield. Kaneria had been found guilty
of inducing his former Essex team-mate to underperform in a
limited-overs game in 2009 and of bringing the game into disrepute.
Westfield, who was jailed for his role in the case, gave evidence
against Kaneria at the hearing.
As all boards under the governance of the ICC have an agreement to
mirror bans imposed in such circumstances, Kaneria's ban has been
effective worldwide.
Kaneria's appeal hearing was originally scheduled for December but,
after the ECB was unable to gain Westfield's cooperation, it was
postponed until April. Without Westfield's evidence, the ECB's case
against Kaneria is severely compromised. Kaneria's lawyers are looking
not just for his ban to be overturned - at 32, he harbours hopes of a
reviving his international career - but they are also claiming "very substantial damages" from the ECB.
Westfield remains reluctant to appear at the appeal. He feels that the
harshness of his penalty - a four-month prison sentence and a five-year
ban from the first-class game (he is allowed to return to club cricket
after three years) - did not reflect the fact that he pleaded guilty and
gave evidence and helped the authorities with their investigations.
ESPNcricinfo understands that Westfield's lawyers are currently
considering their reaction to the summons. Both the ECB and Kaneria
insist they want Westfield to appear at the appeal hearing, although it
seems the ECB is the party with most to lose from his absence. Kaneria's
lawyers remain adamant that, without Westfield's evidence, the ECB "has
no case".
George Dobell is a senior correspondent at ESPNcricinfo
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© ESPN EMEA Ltd.
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