The three England players linked to spot fixing by an undercover investigation will be interviewed by anti-corruption detectives despite the England & Wales Cricket Board describing the allegations as “categorically false.”
An investigation by Al Jazeera was broadcast on Sunday during which a fixer claimed there was a spot fix during England’s Test match against India in Chennai in December 2016. The names of the three England players he alleged were in on the scam were edited out by the programme makers.
A separate allegation was made against two Australia players concerning a Test match in Ranchi, India. Both the ECB and Cricket Australia released statements on Sunday saying there was no “credible evidence” to back up the claims. Trevor Bayliss, the England coach, and Joe Root, the Test captain, described the allegations as “outrageous”
But the International Cricket Council is taking the matter seriously and has arranged to meet Al Jazeera later this week to review all unedited evidence.
It is understood the ICC is already aware of the identities of the players concerned. They will speak to the players after reviewing all the footage as they conduct a “full” and “thorough” investigation into the claims.
The news could not come at a worse time for England. They are bruised after their thumping defeat at Lord’s on Sunday against Pakistan and have little time to regroup before the start of Friday’s second Test at Headingley.
England took the unprecedented step on Monday of axing a batsman halfway through a two-Test home series when opener Mark Stoneman was replaced by Keaton Jennings.
Telegraph Sport revealed England were ready to make the change as they desperately attempt to turn a terrible run of results. The defeat to Pakistan was England’s sixth defeat in eight Tests.
The players held a meeting in the changing rooms at Lord’s after the match led by Bayliss and Root. The England coach revealed his frustration at the performances by his batsmen who were bowled out for 184 in the first innings at Lord’s.
“We keep making the same mistakes. It’s not as if we can’t do it, we’ve just got to be better and more consistent.
"From a coaching point of view we can only keep on hitting those points and working on those things in the nets. Hopefully they will start sinking in because it’s taking longer than we would have liked,” he said.
“The message is obviously not getting through enough. You almost throw your hands up sometimes but what else can you do? We continually deliver that message and work on it in the nets.”
Jennings is back earlier than even he would have expected. His winter move from Durham to Lancashire has brought about a change in form although it remains to be seen if his remodelled technique will be good enough against Pakistan’s skilful attack.
The list of candidates would have been short once England decided to drop Stoneman, who after 11 Tests averaged 27 and was tormented by Pakistan’s attack in both innings at Lord’s.
Before the selection meeting with Ed Smith on Sunday afternoon, and in the immediate aftermath of the nine wicket defeat, Bayliss was minded to stick by Stoneman.
But Smith appears ready to be ruthless and is more distant from the players making him perhaps able to make a fairer assessment. Stoneman was a popular member of the team and Bayliss recognised the hard work he had been putting in behind the scenes on his batting. He had also worked on his fitness, losing weight and giving up alcohol.
England like Jennings’s attitude and character and he was always going to be given a second chance at some stage, but Bayliss would have probably have liked more time to assess his consistency. Too many players in recent times have been picked on the basis of a couple of good scores rather than a sustained period of success, mainly because England have been casting around desperately for answers to their batting problems.
“We’ve put the challenge out there to guys at county level to score plenty of runs and they have to put it out of doubt by making three or four centuries in a row because there will be opportunities,” said Bayliss. “Averaging 40 is not good enough. We want guys making not just hundreds but big hundreds and averaging 50, 60 or 70. That’s a sign that they’ll be good enough at this level. They can’t just be the best of the rest. Let’s put it beyond doubt.”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cricket...viewed-anti-corruption/?WT.mc_id=tmg_share_tw
) Also Hafeez's whining comments of late don't seem to uphold any spirit. 
