LAHORE. Dec 1 I (AFP): Pakistan, players and cricket officials lashed out at Australian players

Shane Warne and Mark Waugh on Thursday demanding action against the pair following their confession they took money from a bookmaker.

Former Pakistan cricket hero Imran Khan said that the admissions had been blown out of all proportion.

Imran said the whole episode was "trivial" and added : "1 think the only confusion is that why it has been declared so late. It’s the Australian cricket Board which is responsible for creating all this fuss."

Imran said he believed that what the Australian players had done did not even amount to a "fineable offence."

"They have created further confusion and doubt but 1 think what they told bookmakers was mild information and not even a fineable offence. There is something more to it," told Imran.

He said the belated disclosure of the affair could be an attempt to rekindle bribery allegations against former Pakistani captain Salim Malik, who was accused in 1994 by Waugh and Warne of offering them bribes.

But he declined to speculate what impact the confessions would have on an ongoing Pakistani inquiry into match-fixing allegations.

■ Another former Pakistan captain Javed Burki said, "I am not at all surprised because it was bound to come one day."

”1 think disclosures will come from other countries also, it s not bad to have an inquiry and penalties the players,” Burki said.

Burki was the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board's ad-hoc committee In February. 1995, when Waugh. Wame and a third Australian, Tim May. claimed Malik offered them 200.000 US dollars each to lose

matches during the Australian tour of Pakistan in October.

1994.

"This shows that our stance in 1994 was right as we wanted to penalise the players silently but we could not handle the local media which wanted to pub-

licise the matter." Burki said.

Arif Abbasi, a member of that ad-hoc committee, criticised the governing body of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in this context.

"In 1994 ICC chief executive David Richards and ICC match referee John Reid were in Pakistan but they kept the allegations secret which was wrong," Abbasi said.

The ICC 'admitted it knew about the Australian players.

The Pakistan board has yet to issue a statement, but chairman Khalid Mahmood slammed the "unethical" conduct of the Australian cricketers and said his board would take up the issue with the Australian board as well as the ICC.

Mahmood told Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio from Laiiore he was disappointed the ACB had not contacted him since the bookmaker scandal erupted on Tuesday.

"We would like the Australian Cricket Board to place all the cards on the table, which would mean we would like to know exactly what happened.

when did it happen, and what are the other associated details." Mahmood said.

"The ACB is too preoccupied with the situation at home to speak to us. We would like to be patient with them but we would certainly like to hear about it." he said.

"I would very much like this matter to be discussed fully, because I think this is necessary to dispel the impression that the ACB is a party to hide that from the world, and they are not once again trying to sweep the matter under the carpet."

Meanwhile, the Pakistan bribery investigating commission will ask the ACB to let Warne and Waugh appear before it.

Their confessions have given the inquiry a "new turn," PCB's legal adviser All Sibstain Fazli said.

"What has transpired from their confessions has changed the scenario and the commission has asked me to request the Australian players reappearance." said Fazli.

The request will be made after the Pakistani board agrees to bear the travel expenses of the two Australian players, he said.

Intikhab Alam, former skipper and coach of the team from 1987-96. also lambasted the Australian players and the ACB.

"The ACB should sort out their house first and then accuse others. Their players alleged we fixed matches and bribery and now their own player's are proved guilty," Alam said.

Alam blamed Warne and Waugh for violating the ethics of cricket.

"It's their guilt that has come out and we are investigating the allegations in our country, they had a double standard." Alam

Haroon Rasheed, former cricketer and Pakistan coach in 1997. believed more revelations were to come.

Sports writer Imtiaz Sipra was harsher. "The Australians are far from being gentlemen in flannels."