Sussex confirm ICC anti-corruption probe

By Bruce Talbot

Sussex have confirmed that their Clydesdale Bank 40 match against Kent at Hove last year has been investigated by the International Cricket Council’s anti-corruption unit after approaches were made to players to fix the match.

The televised, floodlit game, which Kent won by 14 runs, is the subject of allegations that it had been fixed in Ed Hawkins' recently-published book Bookie Gambler Fixer Spy: A Journey to the Corrupt Heart of Cricket’s Underworld.

Hawkins claims he was told by an Indian bookmaker that the outcome was fixed and had attracted unusually high levels of interest on online betting sites with £14 million of turnover on Betfair alone. The game was shown live on Indian television.

Hawkins suggests that the individual who was involved in fixing the match was arrested by police in India and now works in the United States, having left the bookmaking industry.

Sussex confirmed that approaches had been made to some of their players and that a full investigation was launched by the ICC’s anti-corruption unit after the matter was reported to the PCA and ECB.

A club statement said" “The club can confirm approaches were made to players regarding this game. Working with the PCA, the club investigated and reported the issue at the time, passing all the information promptly to the ECB after the match."


Date: 17/11/2012 12:41:00 by Bruce Talbot
In: Today | Sussex |