England captain Andrew Strauss has described the latest match-fixing scandal as "a cancer in the game" of cricket.

"Every one of these allegations hurts the game of cricket more. Every cricketer in the world has received a short, sharp slap in the face about where this game is at the moment and where it needs to go in the future," The Sun quoted Strauss, as saying.

"We must try to iron out these allegations because they are a cancer that can spread and devalue the game," he added.

Strauss was speaking ahead of the first of five one-day internationals to be played between England and Pakistan today at Chester-le-Street.

Strauss said that he understood the cloud of despondency hanging over cricket but insists the game will survive.

"If these things are proved, then it will make me think whether games were strictly as I saw them. I can understand people being reluctant to pay to watch matches now. The allegations have overshadowed the cricket, but we realize our responsibility as players is to get out on the pitch and play well," Strauss said.

"Despite these allegations, I maintain that cricket generally is a very clean sport. I don't worry for the future of the game of cricket. It has survived many controversies over the years," he added.

Likely squads for the first one-day international are as follows:

England: Strauss (captain), Davies (wicketkeeper), Trott, Collingwood, Morgan, Bopara, Yardy, Bresnan, Swann, Broad, Anderson.

Pakistan: Shahzaib Hasan, Kamran Akmal (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Yousuf, Fawad Alam, Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi (captain), Abdur Razzaq, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Irfan. (ANI)