ICC chief executive promises full investigation into corruption claims

David Richardson says the ICC's Anti-Corruption Unit will treat the reports seriously but he has urged film-makers to provide his investigators with the raw footage they require

^{David Richardson has promised a full investigation into corruption claims}

ICC chief executive David Richardson has pledged that the organisation will conduct a "full, thorough and fair investigation" into allegations of corruption made in an Al Jazeera documentary.

The film, released last week, made several individual claims of spot-fixing and potential pitch doctoring, implicating unnamed players from Australia and England as well as a curator in the Sri Lankan city of Galle.

Both the ECB and Cricket Australia have strongly refuted the allegations.

Richardson says the ICC's Anti-Corruption Unit will treat the reports seriously but he has urged film-makers to provide his investigators with the raw footage they require.

“I ask Al Jazeera to release to us all the material they have relating to corruption in cricket," he said in a statement on Friday.

^{Al Jazeera's documentary is at the centre of the storm}

"We will conduct a full, thorough and fair investigation and will ensure no stone is left unturned as we examine all allegations of corruption made in the programme. To do so, we need to see all the evidence they state they possess."

Richardson follows the lead of both Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland and his ECB equivalent, Tom Harrison, in asking Al Jazeera to hand over all supporting evidence.

“I am encouraged by their public commitment to cooperate and now ask that they do so, in releasing all relevant material," Richardson's statement continued.

"We understand and fully respect the need to protect journalistic sources and our ACU team have worked with other media companies on that basis. However, to prove or disprove these allegations, we need to see the evidence referred to in the programme.”

INTERNATIONAL NEWS: The latest from the global game