Sting claims corruption in cricket; ICC demands complete footage
27 May 2018 6:42 PM GMT
New Delhi/ melbourne: A sting operation has claimed to unearth 'pitch-fixing' and 'spot-fixing' in Test matches featuring heavyweights like India and Australia, but the ICC said its investigation into the allegations is being hampered by the channel's refusal to share evidence.
The sting has been carried out by the Al Jazeera channel and the matches in question are India vs Sri Lanka (Galle, July 26-29, 2017), India vs Australia (Ranchi, March 16-20, 2017) and India vs England (Chennai, December 16-20, 2016). The first and third Tests mentioned were won by India while the Ranchi encounter ended in a draw.
The charges -- pitch could have been doctored at the behest of fixers (India vs Sri Lanka), and involvement of some Australian and England players in spot-fixing the other two games. However, no Indian player's name has cropped up in any wrongdoing.
The ICC said it is investigating but also stated that the channel has not cooperated in the matter.
"We have been in ongoing dialogue with the broadcaster which has refused our continual requests to cooperate and share information which has hampered our investigation to date," ICC Anti-Corruption Unit's general manager Alex Marshal said in a statement on Sunday, after Al Jazeera aired its hour-long documentary, 'Cricket's Match Fixers'. "The content of the programme is, of course, useful to the investigation, but I would now urge the production team to provide us with all un-edited and unseen evidence they are in possession of, to enable us to expedite an investigation," he added.
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