<p>Former Pakistan cricketer Danish Kaneria was named in court on Friday as a go-between in a spot-fixing case where former English county player Mervyn Westfield was jailed for four months. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Bowler Westfield, 23, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to being paid 6,000 pounds ($9,400) to give away a set number of runs in the first over of a match between his Essex side and Durham in September 2009. He will serve half his term in prison. <br /><br />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. <br />Mark Milliken-Smith, lawyer for Westfield, told the court: “It is clear, we submit, that Kaneria and his associates targeted Westfield. <br /><br />“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." <br />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. <br /><br />Leg-break 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.</p>
<p>Former Pakistan cricketer Danish Kaneria was named in court on Friday as a go-between in a spot-fixing case where former English county player Mervyn Westfield was jailed for four months. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Bowler Westfield, 23, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to being paid 6,000 pounds ($9,400) to give away a set number of runs in the first over of a match between his Essex side and Durham in September 2009. He will serve half his term in prison. <br /><br />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. <br />Mark Milliken-Smith, lawyer for Westfield, told the court: “It is clear, we submit, that Kaneria and his associates targeted Westfield. <br /><br />“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." <br />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. <br /><br />Leg-break 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.</p>
