Pakistan launch charm offensive as tour resumes

Test captain Salman Butt and bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir set off on Wednesday morning for London to face a Pakistan Cricket Board inquiry into the spot-fixing allegations which have put the remainder of their tour and perhaps their careers in doubt.

With the three men in the eye of the storm otherwise engaged, the rest of the Pakistan squad can continue preparations for their two Twenty20s and five one-day internationals against England.

Pakistan's limited-overs captain Shahid Afridi takes over from Test skipper Salman Butt amid a crisis which has seen four arrests from outside the squad and Butt, Asif and Amir's mobile phones confiscated by police.

But his message yesterday, as his team practised at the County Ground to face a strong Somerset side, was to "entertain" and try to "forget" about events elsewhere.

"What has happened has gone," Afridi said. "We are here to play good cricket.

"It's a big challenge for me personally - playing in English conditions is always difficult.

"We are all looking forward to it. It has been really difficult. But we can forget everything, get out, play the cricket and entertain the people."

Butt, Amir and Asif are due to arrive this morning at the Pakistan high commission in London.

They will doubtless again have to run the gauntlet of the media spotlight - and perhaps the protests of Pakistanis and British Asians aghast at the allegations that they were involved in a plot to bowl no-balls to order during the Lord's Test.

Croydon-based businessman Mazhar Majeed was arrested at the weekend and released without charge on police bail.

Some members of the England squad are thought to be unhappy about the prospect of playing against a team containing Butt, Asif and Amir.

The England and Wales Cricket Board are understood to have lobbied for the players to be stood down from the forthcoming limited-overs matches - and their absence today may be the first step towards ensuring that.

But, asked as he left Taunton whether he would be returning, a calm and smiling Butt responded: "Why not?"

That was as far as any conversation went before he and his two team-mates were whisked away from the tour base.

Somerset, meanwhile, were preparing for their highest-profile match of the season.

After Tuesday's lockdown at the County Ground, when press and public were refused access to watch Pakistan's practice, there was a much more welcoming atmosphere yesterday.

Chief executive Richard Gould is hoping an equally sunny mood will prevail too.

"We are not anticipating anything of that order," he said when asked about the prospect of protests from disillusioned Pakistan supporters.

"We've got a really good family atmosphere generally in the ground, and I think that's going to be all-pervading tomorrow.

"I suspect there might be a little bit of humour thrown in, with a few comments.

"But we won't let anything go beyond light-hearted banter and we will be asking all of our members and supporters to make sure they behave."