Australian Veteran Adam Gilchrist fears for the future of cricket
Australia’s former wicketkeeper and phenomenal opening batsmen http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Adam-Gilchrist-c918 has expressed fear for the future of cricket if the matter of match/spot-fixing is not resolved once and for all.
Speaking to the press, Gilly said, “It's time for someone at the ICC to take more leadership on this issue.This (match and spot fixing) is the biggest issue in the game, it really is. Scheduling is another but that won't be an issue if there's no cricket,
and if match-fixing spirals out of control there won't be any cricket. People won't want to become stakeholders in our sport if match-fixing is allowed to flourish.”
Gilchrist suggested that the International Cricket Council (ICC) needed to make the punishments stricter for anyone involved in the crime of match/spot-fixing. “The http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625 has taken some action recently but I personally think the penalties need to be the harshest
possible. I would like to see a life ban for anyone who enters into ill-dealings in the sport," he said.
Gilly suggested a life ban to be slapped on the any player if he is found guilty of conspiring with bookies to change the result of any game.
The veteran wicketkeeper made his recent remarks after news in the Indian media suggested that ICC’s Anti-corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) had investigated the Australian team for their suspiciously slow opening stand against minnows Zimbabwe in their
first match of the ongoing Cricket World Cup, which is being played in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747.
The Australian management reacted sharply to the claims made in the Indian media and rejected any possibility of spot-fixing taking place in the suspected match. Reports of openers http://www.senore.com/Cricket/BJ-Haddin-c1170 being quizzed by the ACSU were also rebuffed,
clarifying that the Australian cricket team was not being investigated by anyone.
Opener Haddin laughed off the allegations of spot-fixing and reiterated that no one from the ICC had talked to him regarding the slow run rate against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Zimbabwe-c3045. The Australians scored just 38 runs in the first 11 overs which has caused suspicions of some
foul play being involved.
The situation took a serious turn when two Sri Lankan players http://www.senore.com/Cricket/TT-Samaraweera-c2712 were accused by a state owned television, Independent Television Network (ITN) of losing their wickets cheaply against Pakistan to change the outcome
of the match played on Saturday. Sri Lanka fell short by 11 runs while trying to chase a total of 277 runs.
However, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 Cricket (SLC) has termed the allegations as baseless and false. Reports suggest that the players are thinking of suing the network for accusing them of a crime they didn’t commit.
The spot-fixing bubble burst last year in August when three http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013 to bowl deliberate no-balls during the Lord’s Test against England.
A proper hearing into the matter was conducted by ICC’s anti-corruption tribunal which found the players guilty and banned them from the game of cricket. Former Test skipper Butt has been banned for 10 years, Asif for seven and Amir for five years.
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