Pakistan suspicion angers Younus Khan

New Zealand team officials were unhappy with the state of the ball during their emphatic ICC World Twenty20 defeat by Pakistan at the Oval on Saturday and made an informal approach to the match officials after Gul claimed incredible figures of five for six.

The match officials reported nothing untoward had happened to the ball but, according to Younus, it did not stop umpires Rudi Koertzen and Rod Tucker constantly checking its condition during Pakistan's emphatic 39-run win over Ireland at the Oval yesterday, which sealed their progress into the semi-finals.

It prompted Younus to criticise the extra scrutiny on his side and took the shine off their impressive response to their defeat in the group stages by England.

"We're not cheating and it was very embarrassing with the umpires checking the ball all the time," said Younus. "Sometimes it is very embarrassing because there are a lot of cameras, so how can we cheat?"

Pakistan's dismay at the umpires' reaction was more acute because this tournament is their first trip to England since they refused to continue with the final Test at the Oval three years ago because umpire Darrell Hair had also accused them of ball-tampering.

Pakistan were cleared of that accusation following an ICC hearing in London but, on their first return to English soil since that incident, the controversy has raged once again.

"Why does this happen all the time in England?" asked Younus. "Don't talk about a bowler like Umar Gul because he has a good reputation. Why is it always about Pakistan?

"I think we should forget about this thing and just focus on the game. There are a lot of cameras so why didn't the cameras catch us doing something?

Their victory ensured Pakistan's progress to the semi-finals but they must wait until after today's match between Sri Lanka and New Zealand at Trent Bridge to determine whether they top the group and play in Thursday's first semi-final in Nottingham or the second semi-final at the Oval the following day.

Pakistan's win also ended Ireland's participation in the tournament after they again exceeded expectations to qualify for the Super Eights stage.

As an associate nation, they must now qualify again for next year's ICC World Twenty20 tournament in the West Indies in April, and captain William Porterfield admitted: "I think we've learned an awful lot.

"We've shown and reinforced that we can compete with these sides and hold them to respectable totals and really put pressure on them.

"I think with the bat we've learned a lot of things and, looking at these teams and playing against them, that we've got to make a step up in class."