• Kaneria charged for first time over spot-fixing case
• Westfield due to be released from prison
Danish Kaneria has been charged for the first time over his alleged role in the spot-fixing scandal that led to a jail sentence for his former Essex team-mate Mervyn Westfield. The Pakistani leg-spinner has been notified with Westfield by the England and Wales Cricket Board that a disciplinary hearing will be held on 1 May at which both players will face charges of alleged breaches of the game's anti-corruption directives.
The details of the charges against Kaneria, and the possible punishment if he is found guilty, have not been revealed. But, like Westfield, he may be facing a possible life ban from English cricket which would then apply worldwide under the anti-corruption code which states that a ban must be recognised by the International Cricket Council and all cricket-playing nations.
Westfield, who is expected to be released from prison with an electronic tag next week after serving half of his four-month sentence, claimed when he was sentenced at the high court in February that Kaneria had lured him into corruption during the summer of 2009.
The 31-year-old Kaneria, who took 261 wickets in 61 Tests for Pakistan, making him the fourth most successful bowler in their history, has not played international cricket since their tour of England in 2010 but has continued to play provincial cricket in his homeland, where he has been the captain of Sind.
Westfield's lawyer, Daniel Cundy, told The Cricketer that his client will attend the hearing, which will be chaired by Gerald Elias QC, the chairman of the ECB's discipline commission. Westfield is expected to plead guilty, as he did in the criminal case, but seek to avoid a life ban because of his youth at the time of the offence – he was then 21 – plus the fact that he has served a jail term.
Kaneria, who was arrested by police during their initial investigations but never charged, would seem unlikely to attend, although he has strenuously denied all involvement in spot-fixing in the past – most recently after Westfield's conviction, when he was quoted as saying: "Westfield is a convicted fraudster and admitted liar. In trying to reduce his own guilt he has tarnished my name. All allegations against me are false."
Kaneria told Pakistani media on Thursday that he had heard nothing from the ECB and would consult his lawyers before making any comment.