Match Fixing News
 

ICC to form commission to investigate match-fixing

CHRISTCHURCH: The International Cricket Council (ICC) will set up an independent commission to investigate allegations of match-fixing and also establish uniform penalties for serious offences. At the end of a two-day meeting on Monday, ICC chief executive David Richards said the nine Test-playing countries had unanimously agreed to arm the ICC with wide-ranging powers to deal with match-fixing, bribery and other serious matters such as drug-taking. "This meeting's been historic," Richards said. "It gives the ICC its teeth. "We're looking forward to bringing this process to a rapid end so that we can take cricket into the next century with restored dignity and harmony." In allowing the ICC to tackle the problem of match-fixing, each of the member nations agreed to relinquish some of their sovereign powers over domestic cricket. Individual countries had previously been allowed to determine their own rules on player welfare and discipline, but will now be bound by uniform penalties established and enforced by the ICC. "It's an enormous step forward for our parent body to be given the power it's got," Australian Cricket Board chairman Denis Rogers said. "But the best thing about it is that the countries were unanimous about it. There was a tremendous will from everyone to do the right thing." Richards said the commission would be made up of three people, independent of the world's cricket boards, and would begin its investigation before the end of February with a brief to report back to the ICC by May 31.
The commission will be given authority to order any of the ICC's member nations to carry out an independent investigation into match fixing. Each country will also be required to set up their own judicial process for handling any cases. Anyone found guilty of an offence, will be subject to a uniform penalty code to be established by the ICC. "We haven't determined the penalties just yet but rest assured, any person found guilty of match-fixing can expect to be put out of the game for a very long period of time if not forever. We are taking the matter that seriously," Richards said. If the commission is unhappy with any country's
investigation, it will have the authority to conduct its own review of the case. It will also be given powers to punish any nation that does not comply with its procedures. Richards said the decision by the ICC's executive board was proof that cricket administrators were determined to rid the game of corruption. "We certainly have a serious problem on our hands but the view of the board is that this is not rampant throughout the game," he said. "The vast majority of people who play the game and are involved in the game at international level are honourable and decent people disturbed about the slur on their image and reputation." Allegations of match-fixing first surfaced in 1994 when Australian Test players Shane Warne, Mark Waugh and Tim May accused then Pakistan captain Salim Malik of offering them bribes. Several other Pakistan players have also been implicated in various betting scandals while dozens of players from around the world have admitted being approached by bookmakers about the possibility of bribes. Warne and Waugh were also fined by the ACB in 1995 after they took money from an illegal Indian bookmaker for providing information on pitch and weather conditions during a tour of the subcontinent in 1995. The Pakistan and Australian cricket boards have both launched their own inquiries into allegations of match fixing. India also conducted an investigation last year. The ICC has been criticised for its soft approach to the issue, although Richards said the council was powerless to act because of its constitutional rules on sovereignty. The first positive step towards change came in 1991 when the members allowed the ICC to introduce a code of conduct whereby an independent match referee could impose fines or suspensions of players who breached the rules. Then, in August 1997, the ICC restructured its executive, giving each of the Test-playing countries a seat on the executive. "This is an important development for cricket. It was something that had to be done to help take the game to the next century."
 
 

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