CAPE TOWN Jan 10 (Reuters) – Mike Brearley, one
of England’s most successful cricket captains, said on
Tuesday that eradicating corruption from the game was probably
impossible but that was no reason to stop trying.
“There is a ruthless, insidious and dangerous underworld
where a lot of money can be made by gambling on cricket. There
are some very unpleasant people involved and the world’s
professional cricketers need to know that,” said Brearley in his
capacity as chairman of the MCC’s World Cricket Committee which
met on Sunday and Monday in Cape Town.
Brearley said the committee had spend 90 minutes with the
head of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Anti
Corruption and Security Unit, Ronnie Flanagan, discussing how
corrupt bookmakers and gamblers operated.
“They will devise new strategies to corrupt players so we
must remain vigilant,” he said. ” The committee believe the
problem can be contained, but probably not eradicated.”
Fellow committee member and former South African batsman
Barry Richards, said: “What’s the alternative to fighting the
cancer? Throw our arms in the air and give up?
“Way back in my era we used to say ‘what happened?’ when
something unusual happened. Now we say ‘what the hell’s going
on?’ We desperately need to fight for the game’s integrity.”
Among the committee’s proposals were the abolition of
minimum penalties for offenders and the adoption of ‘Mystery
Shopper’ operations in which cricketers suspected of involvement
with bookmakers could be set up with offers of illegal fixing
and prosecuted if they accepted.
The committee also endorsed the continuation of 50-over
cricket and the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) but
criticised the postponement of the inaugural Test Championship
from 2013 to 2017.
“In every major sporting contest in the world, the winner
gets to hold a cup at the end of it. The sooner we can have that
for test cricket the better the game will be,” said Richards.
Continued…
