The late Keith Bradshaw’s new book reveals the extraordinary tale of his role in foiling Pakistan match fixers at Lord’s
Keith Bradshaw was a respected cricket administrator at the SACA and MCC and now his posthumously published memoir reveals his extraordinary role in foiling a match fixing scandal writes BEN HORNE.
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One of Australia’s most prominent cricket administrators has revealed 26 months after his death the stunning story of how he faked a bomb threat to foil a match fixing scandal at the home of cricket.
In a truly extraordinary tale, the late Keith Bradshaw, former chief executive of the Marylebone Cricket Club at Lord’s, has published a posthumous autobiography where he details the inside story of how he collaborated with London police to execute the arrests of the Pakistani players involved in the brazen spot fixing scandal during a Test against England in 2010.
The News of the World was about to go to print with the warts and all story of its spectacular sting when Metropolitan police entered Bradshaw’s office at Lord’s and put him under lockdown as they tried to plot how they would execute the highly complicated arrests of Salman Butt, the Pakistan captain, players Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif – and bookmaker Mazhar Majeed.
“What the Met wanted to do was to ensure the three Pakistani players who were alleged to have been involved in spot-fixing … would be separated in the Pavilion and kept away from their mobile phones,” Bradshaw writes in his captivating book, An Outsider at Lord’s; The real story behind my years at MCC.
“They (Pakistan) were in the field that day. What struck me during the course of this extraordinary explanation was that they could come off for bad light at any time.
“This surprised the officers, who perhaps not having a knowledge of the game, had not contemplated that.
“And if they did come off, that would most likely be the end of play for the day and the attempts to arrest the bookmaker and fixer, and their bank-roller, Mazhar Majeed, would fall flat.
“It was important that both these events occurred simultaneously so that neither party could be forewarned and Mazhar would have an officer trailing him, ready to pounce when given the all clear.
“As fate would have it, play was abandoned and the players did leave the field. To make matters worse, at that instant, the policeman tagging Mazhar lost him. The whole operation was in danger of failing.”
That’s when Bradshaw, a former Tasmanian first-class teammate of David Boon, came up with the astonishing proposal of staging a bomb hoax at Lord’s.
“I suggested the best way of ensuring they did not retrieve their phones was for me to tell the teams that an unidentified package had been discovered in the Pavilion which could well be a bomb.
“Hence the players would have to stay in the dressing room, where mobiles were not permitted to be used, until it was all clear.
“This would give the police a chance to find their missing man.
“And that’s exactly what happened.
“Off they came for bad light on a murky afternoon. I sent a message to the touring party that a package had been reported to MCC’s stewards and the Pavilion would have to be cleared before they were let out. So the three players under suspicion couldn’t reach their phones and the Pakistani team were stuck in the dressing room while the police tried to find their man.”
Ultimately, Mazhar was found and arrested, and police seized Butt, Amir and Asif upon the arrival of the team bus back at the Pakistan hotel. All four men were jailed for their part in the infamous scandal.
Bradshaw returned to Australia in his final years where he made a tremendous contribution as chief executive of the South Australian Cricket Association.
The highly respected administrator died in November 2021, aged 58, following a brave 13-year battle with bone marrow cancer.
Two of his children Eliza and Juliet wrote in the introduction to their father’s book that Bradshaw had written the autobiography in the final years of his life and detailed in his Will that he wanted it published.
An Outsider at Lord’s goes on sale January 29.
Originally published as The late Keith Bradshaw’s new book reveals the extraordinary tale of his role in foiling Pakistan match fixers at Lord’s
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