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Cricket’s anti-corruption unit is investigating 50 cases of possible wrongdoing but Australian authorities are unaware of any local implications.
Ahead of the 20th anniversary of one of cricket’s darkest days - the fixed Centurion Test between South Africa and England, which led to Hansie Cronje being banned from the sport for life - the revelations from Alex Marshall, the general manager of the International Cricket Council’s ACU, are a reminder that the sport’s fight against corruption is far from won.
Marshall said players at the World Cup in England last year reported they had been approached prior to the tournament by suspicious individuals who tried to recruit them to fix in franchise Twenty20 leagues, although the ICC is confident that the tournament itself was clean after security measures - including having officers with each team - were tightened.
"We got very good feedback because we showed players pictures of current corruptors," Marshall said.
"That then led to several reports from people playing in the World Cup about contact they had from those corruptors about T20 events in the future.
"None of them related to approaches to fix in the World Cup. As far as I know, it looks as though the World Cup was clean."
Six international captains have reported approaches from corruptors since Marshall took over the running of the unit in 2017, a point which will spark dark memories of the Cronje scandal, one of the most notorious incidents of corruption in cricket’s modern era.
Cricket Australia said on Saturday it was unaware of any issues involving Australian players and maintained players continued to be given comprehensive education programs.
CA's hard-line stance on anti-corruption measures was reinforced this summer when Women's Big Bash League player Emily Smith was banned for a year, nine months suspended, for disclosing the Hobart Hurricanes' batting order on social media.
The Age and Sydney Morning Herald reported this month that six bookies in India had been arrested for taking bets on the Big Bash League this summer, including the clash between the Melbourne Renegades and Sydney Thunder. There was no suggestion the Thunder or Renegades were involved.
Cricket's worldwide players union, the Federation of International Cricketers' Association, maintains more needs to be done in education, particularly of players from countries where their pay is poor.
The ICC has the power to seize phones and download call and messaging records, with failure to supply phones resulting in a two-year ban for non-cooperation.
"We have now prosecuted a lot of the top corruptors in the world because we now have a better intelligence," Marshall said.
"We are looking at between 40 and 50 live cases. It is quite consistent around those numbers now. We charged more people last year than ever before [12] and it will be similar next year."
Cronje was the clean-cut, deeply religious and widely admired captain of South Africa when his side took on England in a dead rubber at Centurion on January 14, 2000. Rain left a draw looking the most likely result until he offered Nasser Hussain, England’s captain, an attractive run chase of 249 on the final day.
The move was widely hailed as a triumph of sportsmanship but in April that year it was revealed Cronje had accepted money and a leather jacket from his bookmaker contact to guarantee a result in the game. A massive scandal unfolded and Cronje was unmasked as having taken thousands of pounds from bookies in previous years.
Then, there was no anti-corruption unit or code of conduct. Now the players are briefed regularly by the ICC, which recently banned Shakib Al Hasan, the Bangladesh superstar all-rounder, simply for failing to report approaches.
Marshall said captains such as Cronje, who died in a plane crash in 2002, remain the ideal target for fixers.
"The corruptors absolutely love captains because they make decisions on the field," Marshall said.
"Next in line are the opening batsmen and two opening bowlers - particularly in T20. The corruptors are very well resourced. They can put a lot of money on the table.
"There is always the risk someone will fall for it. The big difference is there was not an anti-corruption code in Cronje’s day. There was not the same education or an anti-corruption unit like mine.
"In cricket we are a bit unusual. We will go after all the corruptors, even those outside our code. We have had them arrested and detained by immigration in three countries in recent months after telling the local police that this person is a suspected corruptor and moving through your borders. We have taken an aggressive approach towards the corruptors, which other sports don’t."
The major front in the fight against corruption in the new decade is franchise T20 tournaments. The sums of money on offer are tempting, particularly for players below the top tier.
"You also have teams not used to playing with each other and a backroom staff and coach who are not familiar with each other, so it is different from the normal club, county or international team. Power is often held by owners or backers behind the owners. In some cases that has been a root in attempting to corrupt cricketers," Marshall said.
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricke...-of-potential-corruption-20200111-p53qmb.html
Ahead of the 20th anniversary of one of cricket’s darkest days - the fixed Centurion Test between South Africa and England, which led to Hansie Cronje being banned from the sport for life - the revelations from Alex Marshall, the general manager of the International Cricket Council’s ACU, are a reminder that the sport’s fight against corruption is far from won.
Marshall said players at the World Cup in England last year reported they had been approached prior to the tournament by suspicious individuals who tried to recruit them to fix in franchise Twenty20 leagues, although the ICC is confident that the tournament itself was clean after security measures - including having officers with each team - were tightened.
"We got very good feedback because we showed players pictures of current corruptors," Marshall said.
"That then led to several reports from people playing in the World Cup about contact they had from those corruptors about T20 events in the future.
"None of them related to approaches to fix in the World Cup. As far as I know, it looks as though the World Cup was clean."
Six international captains have reported approaches from corruptors since Marshall took over the running of the unit in 2017, a point which will spark dark memories of the Cronje scandal, one of the most notorious incidents of corruption in cricket’s modern era.
Cricket Australia said on Saturday it was unaware of any issues involving Australian players and maintained players continued to be given comprehensive education programs.
CA's hard-line stance on anti-corruption measures was reinforced this summer when Women's Big Bash League player Emily Smith was banned for a year, nine months suspended, for disclosing the Hobart Hurricanes' batting order on social media.
The Age and Sydney Morning Herald reported this month that six bookies in India had been arrested for taking bets on the Big Bash League this summer, including the clash between the Melbourne Renegades and Sydney Thunder. There was no suggestion the Thunder or Renegades were involved.
Cricket's worldwide players union, the Federation of International Cricketers' Association, maintains more needs to be done in education, particularly of players from countries where their pay is poor.
The ICC has the power to seize phones and download call and messaging records, with failure to supply phones resulting in a two-year ban for non-cooperation.
"We have now prosecuted a lot of the top corruptors in the world because we now have a better intelligence," Marshall said.
"We are looking at between 40 and 50 live cases. It is quite consistent around those numbers now. We charged more people last year than ever before [12] and it will be similar next year."
Cronje was the clean-cut, deeply religious and widely admired captain of South Africa when his side took on England in a dead rubber at Centurion on January 14, 2000. Rain left a draw looking the most likely result until he offered Nasser Hussain, England’s captain, an attractive run chase of 249 on the final day.
The move was widely hailed as a triumph of sportsmanship but in April that year it was revealed Cronje had accepted money and a leather jacket from his bookmaker contact to guarantee a result in the game. A massive scandal unfolded and Cronje was unmasked as having taken thousands of pounds from bookies in previous years.
Then, there was no anti-corruption unit or code of conduct. Now the players are briefed regularly by the ICC, which recently banned Shakib Al Hasan, the Bangladesh superstar all-rounder, simply for failing to report approaches.
Marshall said captains such as Cronje, who died in a plane crash in 2002, remain the ideal target for fixers.
"The corruptors absolutely love captains because they make decisions on the field," Marshall said.
"Next in line are the opening batsmen and two opening bowlers - particularly in T20. The corruptors are very well resourced. They can put a lot of money on the table.
"There is always the risk someone will fall for it. The big difference is there was not an anti-corruption code in Cronje’s day. There was not the same education or an anti-corruption unit like mine.
"In cricket we are a bit unusual. We will go after all the corruptors, even those outside our code. We have had them arrested and detained by immigration in three countries in recent months after telling the local police that this person is a suspected corruptor and moving through your borders. We have taken an aggressive approach towards the corruptors, which other sports don’t."
The major front in the fight against corruption in the new decade is franchise T20 tournaments. The sums of money on offer are tempting, particularly for players below the top tier.
"You also have teams not used to playing with each other and a backroom staff and coach who are not familiar with each other, so it is different from the normal club, county or international team. Power is often held by owners or backers behind the owners. In some cases that has been a root in attempting to corrupt cricketers," Marshall said.
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricke...-of-potential-corruption-20200111-p53qmb.html
