ECB establishes anti-corruption unit for domestic limited-overs matches – Cricket News Update
In the wake of a recent surge in cases of spot-fixing and corruption in the sport, the England and Wales Cricket Board has set up an anti-corruption team comprising seven officials who will be overseeing domestic limited-overs matches in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013, namely
the Friends Life T20 and CB40 competitions this season.
“ECB has been at the forefront of efforts to stamp out corruption in cricket and the creation of a dedicated team of officials … demonstrates our determination to protect the integrity of the sport,” said http://www.senore.com/Cricket/David-G-Collier-c52800, ECB Chief Executive.
“The team will be operative for a 10 week period,” he confirmed, going on to explain that the time frame for the unit would begin during the summer with the first round of matches in the Friends Life T20 competition and end with the final round of matches
in the CB40 competition.
The unit, with responsibilities similar to those held by the ICC's Regional Security Managers for international cricket, will be overseen by ECB anti-corruption official Chris Watts, and will be investigating both televised and non-televised matches from
mid-June till the end of August.
“They will be a visible presence at matches and will act as a constant reminder to players, officials and club personnel of the need for constant vigilance … we seek to identify, prevent and eradicate corrupt practises from our domestic game,” Collier insisted.
The establishment of the unit comes after the ECB’s creation of the ACCESS Unit last year, a body which had been responsible for enforcing cricket’s anti-corruption code, and protecting the integrity of the sport.
The fairness and transparency of County matches was called into question following the trial and conviction of former Essex pacer Mervyn Westfield, who became the first County cricket player to be convicted on charges of corruption and spot-fixing.
The 24-year-old was sentenced to four months in prison at Old Bailey for agreeing to accept bribes in exchange for deliberately underperforming during a match between http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Durham-c782 in 2009. Westfield appealed against this conviction, but his challenge
was recently rejected by the Court of Appeal, which refused to show leniency in order to eradicate corruption from the sport.
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