LONDON, Aug 31 In a new twist to the 'spot-fixing' scandal, Scotland Yard here cleared Pakistan wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal of any match-fixing charges levelled against him by British tabloid News of the World.

Kamran was not called in by the UK police for the second round of interrogation when his other three suspected teammates Salman Butt, Mohammad Aamir and Mohammad Asif were called for questioning on Tuesday.

Earlier, former Australian wicketkeeper Ian Healy had declared Kamran completely innocent of match-fixing despite his butter-fingered display in the Sydney Test in January this year.

However, sources close to the Pakistan cricket team disclosed that Kamran was still under probe for the Sydney Test debacle of last December when a number of dropped catches by him behind the stumps off Michael Hussey's bat turned the tide in hosts Australia's favour and eventually cost Pakistan the match.

It must be mentioned that Kamran alongwith his brother Umar Akmal was fined Rs 3 million by a PCB inquiry committee probing the debacle Down Under but later on, the two brothers were pardoned by the board after they tendered apologies for their actions. —Agencies