No Australian cricketer has been implicated in allegations that prostitutes were used as rewards to lure top players into match-fixing, cricket officials said here last week.

Australian Cricket Board chief executive Malcolm Speed said the allegations were not new and did not involve any Australians. "We\'ve checked this with the ICC anti-corruption unit over the weekend when the story broke in London," Speed said. "They have the file from Omar and there are no Australian players or officials against whom these allegations are made." He said the board did not know who the players were or where they came from.

Qasim, who played 28 Tests for Pakistan in the 1980s, told the paper that he deals were struck in hotels and restaurants in Sydney and Melbourne. Qasim, who was said to have provided the unit with the addresses and telephone numbers of all the women had also made allegations about a similar sex scandal in New Zealand.