New spot-fixing scandal emerges in cricket

DOHA: Several top international cricketers from England, Australia, India and Pakistan have been found involved in corruption and match-fixing, claimed Al Jazeera in a report on Sunday.The Qatar-based news channel said it had evidence involving "two dozen fixes in 15 international matches".

"The evidence, from 2011 and 2012, points to a small group of England players allegedly carrying out spot-fixes in seven matches; Australia players in five matches; Pakistan players in three, with players from other teams carrying out spot-fixes in one match. In some cases, both teams appear to have delivered a fix," it said.

The report did not name any cricketers. Al Jazeera said it has possession of "purported recordings" of a match fixer who was in contact with a known Indian bookmaker linked to organised crime.

"The matches in which fixes were allegedly carried out include England versus India at Lord's Cricket Ground, South Africa versus Australia in Cape Town and several matches during England's series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)," stated the report.

The Al Jazeera report said several fixes were a part of those matches, putting the number of fixes at 26 in a total of 15 matches. The report mentioned 15 matches involving match fixes, including fourmatches involving Pakistan from 2011 to 2012. The matches are:

- Eng v Pak, Test match, 17-19/1/2012

- Eng v Pak, Test match, 25-28/1/2012

- Eng v Pak, Test match, 3-6/2/2012

- South Africa v Pak, T20I World Cup, 28/9/2012

The report said that its dossier has pictures of alleged match-fixer Aneel Munawar and his associates trying to mingle with famous international cricketers during the T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka, 2012. It was also stated by the publication that these players were not found involved in match-fixing.

These players include Umar Akmal from Pakistan, Australian coach Andy Bichel, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, and Lakshmipathy Balaji from India.

After the report surfaced, the International Cricket Council’s General Manager (Anti-Corruption Unit) Alex Marshall issued a statement, which said that the council will investigate the allegations.

“The ICC is committed to working to uphold integrity in cricket. As you would expect we will again take the contents of the programme and any allegations it may make seriously and will investigate fully. However, I must refute the assertion that cricket does not take the issue of corruption seriously, we have more resources than ever before working to rid our sport of corruption,” it said.

The investigation has already commenced, according to the ICC. “The investigation into these allegations has already commenced and will run alongside a number of other live unrelated investigations. When considering the claims, we will work with professional independent betting analysts.

“As with the first programme we have, and will continue to ask for the cooperation of the broadcaster. We have made repeated efforts to engage with the broadcaster as it can play such a crucial part in the full and thorough investigation it has called for.

“We do welcome the commitment from the broadcaster to share the files with Interpol and, I hope, other law enforcement agencies who can act upon the information and support us in ridding the sport of these criminals.”