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Al Jazeera claims to have fresh spot-fixing evidence

By Agencies
October 22, 2018

LONDON: Al Jazeera news network has claimed to have uncovered fresh evidence of corruption at the highest levels of international cricket. It appears to involve two dozen fixes in as many as 15 international matches — six Tests, six ODIs and three World T20 games, the network said.

“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,” Al Jazeera reported on its website.

Spot-fixes affect a small part of the game and do not aim to determine the overall result. Al Jazeera claimed to have obtained recordings of a fixer calling in the fixes to a notorious Indian bookmaker linked to the organised crime. He is unaware that the recordings were leaked.

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).

The files suggest that the suspected fixes were usually carried out by batsmen who agreed to underperform. Some of the world’s most famous players were batting when the fixes allegedly occurred. Many of the matches appear to include multiple fixes, making a total of 26 fixes in the 15 matches.

The alleged fixer, Aneel Munawar, is based in Mumbai but spends much of his time in Dubai. Twenty five of the 26 predictions made by Munawar proved to be correct.

Among the players the fixer was seen close to is Virat Kohli, now India’s captain, Al Jazeera reported. Other photographs show Umar Akmal, a Pakistani player, receiving and peering into a bag allegedly given to him by a Munawar associate, though the photographs do not show whether Akmal left with the bag, it added.

Others who appear in the photographs include Andy Bichel, the Australian coach, and senior Indian players, including Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma and Lakshmipathy Balaji, Al Jazeera said.

The England and Wales Cricket Board dismissed the allegations of spot-fixing against England players. “Whilst the limited information we have been given by Al Jazeera is poorly prepared and lacks clarity and corroboration, it has been properly assessed,” the ECB said. “Analysis of this by the ECB Integrity Team has cast no doubt on the integrity or behaviour of any England player, current or former.

“The ECB takes its responsibilities on anti-corruption and preserving the integrity of cricket very seriously,” the statement added.“The materials we have been given have been referred to the ICC’s Anti-Corruption unit and we will continue to work with them, as is the correct procedure for protecting the game.”

Responding to Al Jazeera’s claims, the ICC said in a statement it was “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.

“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.”