Matchfixing remains issue as T20 kicks off
International Cricket Board CEO Dave Richardson has proclaimed that he expected the ICC World T20 tournament in India to be 'corruption-free'.
"I know that our anti-corruption unit are working hand in hand with the law enforcement agencies, the police agencies in India to make sure that any information is shared," said Richardson.
Cricket's governing body has warned that match-fixers are now targeting the game's minnows as they prepared to get the World Twenty20 under way in India Tuesday.
Hong Kong, who played Zimbabwe in the opening match, were rocked by a corruption scandal in the build-up to the T20 tournament, which already led to the suspension of their all-rounder Irfan Ahmed.
BUT...can we still trust the outcome of all matches played in major tournaments around the world?
We are forced to be cynical and perhaps doubtful in light of certain developments in the game regarding corruption which have enjoyed a fair deal of media attention in recent months.
A panel appointed by India's highest legislator, the Supreme Court, recently suspended two top Indian Premier League (IPL) teams for two years over a corruption scandal.
Multiple champions the Chennai Super Kings and the Rajasthan Royals were both found guilty in an illegal betting and match fixing probe.
Pakistan stars Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were convicted of taking bribes from a bookmaker, Mazhar Majeed, in 2010 to under-perform deliberately at certain times in a Test against England at Lord's.
All three were given prison sentences in the UK, ranging from six months to 32 months (Wikipedia).
Although the practice of spot fixing appears to be more prevalent in Asia, South Africa has not been spared the scourge.
Four South African names -- Hansie Cronje, Herschelle Gibbs, Henry Williams and more recently Gulam Bodi -- appear on a list of 20 known players found guilty of various match-fixing offences.
Prominent stars like former Pakistan captain Saleem Malik, Indian skipper Mohammed Azharuddin, Marlon Samuels of the West Indies and Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful have received varying degrees of punishment.
Edited by Faith Daniels