Could have filed a police complaint against Trott: Afridi

Trott grabbed Riaz by the throat before the fourth one-day international at Lord's. Prior to that, both had exchanged heated words at nets. "When Riaz was returning after training Troff called him a 'match-fixer'. Trott said that he (Riaz) was up to harming Test cricket and hit his face with the pad," Afridi told Geo Television.

"It could have been a police case because it is a crime to hit someone. But we showed a big heart and did not press for it," Afridi said. "There was talk of not going in for the toss because of the incident. But better sense prevailed, because we wanted to play the match and wanted this series to end properly," Afridi said.

"The match referee (Jeff Crowe) called both players and Trott apologised for his remarks and the matter ended there as far as we are concerned." Earlier, an ECB spokesman declined to revisit the specifics of the incident described by its chief executive, David Collier, as "regrettable"  but "fairly minor in nature".

The spokesperson said: "As far as we are concerned the matter is closed and, as far as the match referee is concerned the matter is closed." Riaz is one of four Pakistani players to have been interviewed by police over alleged spot-fixing charges.