Cricket: ECB charge Westfield and Kaneria

Former Essex bowlers Mervyn Westfield and Danish Kaneria have been charged by the England and Wales Cricket Board in connection with the events which saw Westfield jailed earlier this year for spot-fixing.

The pair will face a disciplinary hearing, which is expected to take place early next month, into charges “relating to their alleged breaches of the ECB’s anti-corruption directives”.

Westfield, 23, was sentenced to four months in jail in February after he pleaded guilty to one count of accepting or obtaining a corrupt payment to bowl in a way that would allow the scoring of runs. He is due to serve half of that term, meaning he should be released later this month.

His then team-mate Kaneria was arrested in connection with the case, but later released without charge and has insisted he is innocent. Westfield was issued with an interim suspension by the ECB after his sentencing.

An ECB statement read: “The charges relate to the corrupt activities which led to Mervyn Westfield’s criminal conviction in February.”