ENGLAND cricket chiefs last night warned any player found guilty of illegal contact with bookmakers will face severe penalties as the threat of match-fixing rocked the game. On the eve of today’s first Test with Bangladesh at Lord’s, the England and Wales Cricket Board confirmed two players had been approached by bookies. The revelations follow yesterday’s claims by an unnamed county professional he had been asked to fix the outcome of a game.
‘ECB can confirm two players have formally reported approaches from bookmakers,’ said the statement. ‘ECB has reported this information to the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit and to the police. ECB’s Board has reinforced the need to all players and officials to be vigilant concerning illegal approaches by bookmakers.
‘ECB believes unlawful activities such as those attempted here and reported by players must be eliminated. ‘The Board takes this opportunity to remind cricketers and others falling under its jurisdiction any unlawful activity of this kind will result in disciplinary action, and will inevitably be dealt with severely, constituting as it would, a grave slur on the integrity of the game.’
England captain Andrew Strauss backed the hardline stance, saying: ‘If it is happening, it needs to be stamped out straight away.’ And his Bangladesh counterpart, Shakib Al Hasan, revealed he was once approached, saying: ‘I immediately told a member of the board and the ICC guy. They took action. After that he never called again.’
No comments:
Post a Comment