A man has been arrested in connection with an alleged cricket betting scam centred on the current Test between Pakistan and England at Lord's.

The News of the World claims it gave £150,000 to a middleman who gave information about three pre-arranged "no balls" during the match.

Scotland Yard said a 35-year-old man was being held on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers.

Pakistan and England said the game would resume on Sunday as planned.

A joint statement issued by the International Cricket Council (ICC), the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) read: "No players nor team officials have been arrested in relation to this incident and the fourth npower Test match will continue as scheduled on Sunday.

"As this is now subject to a police investigation neither ICC, ECB, PCB nor the ground authority, the MCC, will make any further comment."

The statement said the ICC, ECB, PCB, along with the ICC Anti-Corruption and Security Unit, were assisting the police with their inquiries.

Earlier, Pakistan manager Yawar Saeed told the Associated Press team members had spoken to police at their hotel and were "helping them with their inquiries".

He later said he was shocked by the allegations, as were the team members to whom he had spoken.

The News of the World alleges that Pakistani players were secretly paid to deliberately bowl "no balls" during the Test.

A "no ball" occurs when a bowler oversteps the line behind which balls should be delivered.

The newspaper claims it was given pre-warning of three separate incidents by the Pakistan team.

It said members of its reporting team posed as businessmen and paid a middleman who told them exactly what would happen in the next day's play.

The allegations relate to three "no balls" delivered by Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif on Thursday and Friday.

Speaking from the team hotel in north London, Mohammad Asif said: "I have spoken to the management and they have told us something happened, but not what. The management will tell us more later. We are 100% focused on the match tomorrow."

Former Pakistan cricket captain Asif Iqbal said he was shocked by the newspaper's claims, while Angus Porter, chief executive of the Professional Cricketers' Association, said the allegations could cover "a spectrum of possible offences".

The BBC's Andy Swiss said the allegations involved "very minor, very small details within the match that might seem ridiculously trivial to a lot of people".

"There is no suggestion that the result of the match has been in any way fixed nor that the England players knew anything about this," he said.

Our correspondent added: "That sort of information is worth a huge amount of money in the betting world where you can put bets on the tiniest details within a cricket game".

And he suggested the allegations could affect the sport's reputation.

"Cricket prides itself on the integrity of its reputation for fair play.

"This is a difficult situation for cricket and there are going to be some uncomfortable questions for the Pakistan team when the match resumes," he said.

England look close to an innings victory in the Test at Lord's later after taking 14 Pakistan wickets on Saturday.

They are heading for a 3-1 victory in the four-match Test series.

http://news.sky.com/sky-news/content/StaticFile/jpg/2010/Aug/Week4/15708631.jpg

Mohammad Amir throws a no-ball (Pic: Sky Sports)

Three Pakistan cricketers have been quizzed by police over alleged involvement in a betting scam - but the team manager denies Pakistan cricket is "institutionally corrupt".

The man at the centre of cricket betting scam allegations about the Pakistan team is released without charge on police bail.

Former Pakistan skipper Imran Khan says swift action must be taken against anyone found to have been part of the alleged no-ball conspiracy at Lord's.

Somerset CCC have announced that the warm-up match for Pakistan against Somerset on Thursday will still be played.

Four Pakistani cricketers under scrutiny for claims of spot-fixing are unlikely to play again on the current England tour, the BBC understands.

The England team believes the Pakistan players named in the betting probe that has engulfed the tourists should sit out the rest of the tour.

The three Pakistan cricketers accused of corruption - Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir - may have been set up, according to the country's high commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hasan.

A fourth Pakistan cricketer is being investigated by cricket's world body, claims the News of the World.

About £4,000 in cash, which had been paid to an agent as part of a newspaper sting operation, was found in the rooms of three Pakistan players suspected of spot-fixing in last week's Lord's Test, the BBC understands.

"Pakistan team should have returned home," says former England star Allan Lamb

Pakistan High Commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hasan says the three cricketers accused of spot-fixing should receive life bans from cricket if found guilty.

Pakistan bowler Wahab Riaz will be questioned by Scotland Yard on 14 September in relation to allegations of corruption.

More spot fixing?

The International Cricket Council has launched an investigation into Friday's third one-day international between England and Pakistan at the Oval.

The game's world governing body says the probe is based on information passed on by The Sun newspaper.

ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat says the match, won by Pakistan by 23 runs, featured "a certain scoring pattern" that warranted further investigation

More spot fixing?

The International Cricket Council has launched an investigation into Friday's third one-day international between England and Pakistan at the Oval.

The game's world governing body says the probe is based on information passed on by The Sun newspaper.

ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat says the match, won by Pakistan by 23 runs, featured "a certain scoring pattern" that warranted further investigation
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The England and Wales Cricket Board threatens to take legal action against Ijaz Butt unless he apologises for claiming England threw a game.