Pakistan cricket boss drops fixing claims

Butt alleged that the England players had "accepted enormous amounts of money" following the match at the Brit Oval, which England lost by 23 runs.

The England players and management strongly refuted the claims and demanded an apology from Butt as they assessed their legal options.

The PCB chairman arrived in London this week to meet English officials and last night released a statement in which he withdrew his comments.

"I wish personally and on behalf of the Pakistan Cricket Board to withdraw the comments I made concerning the England and Wales Cricket Board and each of the England players who played in the NatWest one-day international at the Brit Insurance Oval on Friday 17 September," the statement read.

"It is regrettable that there was a misunderstanding arising from my comments."

His remarks followed a newspaper sting in which Pakistan Test players were implicated in a plan to fix match results as part of a betting scam.

Butt's claims provoked an angry reaction from the England players who threatened to withdraw from matches and the statement indicates an attempt to thaw the troubled relations between the two teams.