Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Khalid Mahmood said yesterday that the three countries would be pushing for bans at the ICC meeting in Christchurch, New Zealand, on Jan 10-11.

Australian Test pair Warne and Waugh recently admitted taking money from an Indian bookmaker for information on pitch and weather conditions during a one-day tournament in Sri Lanka in 1994.

Mahmood said: ``The subcontinent was unanimous that the guilty players should be banned for life when we met at New Delhi 10 days ago. At least three countries will be pressing the ICC to step in, investigate the charges and clamp life bans on those found guilty.''

He said any ban would have to be approved by a majority of the nine ICC executive board members. ``Let's see if the majority favours life bans,'' he added.

Former Australian Test batsman Neil Harvey is among others who have called for two-year bans on Waugh and Warne.

Two days before the ICC meeting, Waugh and Warne are to appear before a Pakistani inquiry which will sit in Australia to take testimony from the pair as part of an investigation into bribery and match-fixing in Pakistan.

Pakistan Cricket Board legal adviser Ali Sibtain Fazli and Lahore High Court Registrar Abdus Salam Khawar will travel to Australia to hear the testimony because Waugh and Warne were reluctant to travel to Pakistan and attempts to set up a live video link failed.

The pair have accused former Pakistan captain Salim Malik of offering them bribes to play poorly during Australia's tour of Pakistan in 1994.

Waugh testified before the inquiry in October, when Australia were touring Pakistan, but investigating judge Malik Qayyum said he needed to be interviewed again following his admission about accepting money from a bookmaker.

Warne has made similar allegations but did not testify as he missed the recent tour of Pakistan because he was recovering from shoulder surgery.

Malik has denied the charges and says that Warne's and Waugh's admission over the Indian bookmaker proves his innocence.

Waugh and Warne were fined secretly by the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) in early 1995 but the incident was covered up until an Australian newspaper broke the story earlier this month, causing the ACB to be accused of double standards.

PCB chief executive Majid Khan criticised the ACB yesterday, saying: ``It is very unfortunate the way ACB covered up the issue and only fined the two cricketers. Had the ACB informed us at that time, a joint probe by the two boards could have been conducted to resolve the issue.''

The ACB has announced that its own investigation into cricket and betting would begin on Jan 12 and last about three weeks.