Bracken mulling legal action after being named during spot-fixing trial at London court

Sydney, Oct 11(ANI): Former Australia fast bowler Nathan Bracken is considering taking legal action "to protect his reputation" after being named during the ongoing spot-fixing case trial in London.

In February, British prosecutors had "authorised charges of conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments, and also conspiracy to cheat" against the tainted Pakistani trio- Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif- implicated in the spot-fixing scandal as well as alleged bookmaker Mazhar Majeed.

Majeed, 36, told an undercover journalist, who was posing as a rich Indian businessman seeking major international players for the tournament, that Australian cricketers and Pakistan stars were involved in betting scams, Southwark Crown Court was told on Monday.

The jury was played secret recordings of meetings between London-based agent and former News of the World journalist Mazher Mahmood, in which Majeed claimed that Australian players were "the biggest" when it came to rigging games.

Majeed told the undercover reporter that he managed ten Pakistan cricketers, as well as "a couple of Indian players", Australian fast bowler Nathan Bracken and West Indian all-rounder Chris Gayle.

This prompted a furious reaction from Bracken's manager, Rob Horton, on Tuesday morning.

"What a load of garbage, we have never heard of this guy. We have never met him," The Daily Telegraph quoted Horton, as saying.

"Nathan would never ever be involved in anything like that at all...He's thinking of taking legal action in London to protect his reputation," Horton added.

Majeed claimed that match fixing had been going on "for centuries", named former Pakistan fast-bowlers Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis as alleged participants, and boasted that he knew Hollywood star Brad Pitt and tennis ace Roger Federer "very well".

Majeed had also boasted that he knew "all the agents", including the representative of former Australian captain Ricky Ponting.

Ponting's manager, James Henderson, dismissed the claim, saying: "We have never heard of him."

Former Pakistan quick Waqar also denied any involvement in match fixing, saying: "There's nothing in it (the allegations)." (ANI)