http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Stephen-Rodger-Waugh-c91216’s claims – Cricket News Update
Chief Executive (CEO) of the International Cricket Council (ICC), Haroon Lorgat, has rejected former Australian captain, Steve Waugh’s claims that a high number of international cricketers were contacted by the bookmakers in the last couple of years.
According to some former high profile cricketers, match-fixing and spot-fixing is present in cricket like a cancer, since the last two decades. Waugh claimed that 56 international cricketers were illegally contacted by suspicious people.
However, the CEO of the governing body of the game denied the rumours and said that ICC does not have any such figures and claimed that Waugh’s allegations have nothing to do with the reality.
Lorgat said, “I am not sure where Steve Waugh gets that figure from because we do not publish any such information. In fact there's one individual in the anti-corruption and security unit that maintains such records and he does not even know the figure himself, simply because he had not compiled it. So I'm not sure where Steve Waugh gets that figure from.”
A number of international players have been banned by the ICC and the respective cricket boards after they were proved guilty of having relations with the bookmakers. The long list includes former captains http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Salman-Butt-c2418.
Last year’s spot-fixing controversy at the Lords Test between http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625 started taking this as a major problem. This is the reason why three of Pakistan’s leading cricketers were banned for a long time from all forms of the game.
Former Sri Lankan captain, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Hashan-Prasantha-Tillakaratne-c62021, also claimed earlier this year, that a huge number of international cricketers are involved in this crime.
However, Lorgat is very positive that the ICC would be able to remove this disease from the game and said that the international cricketers are being educated about corruption in the ‘gentlemen’s game’.
"Who's to say there were not as many in years gone by that were not reported? The fact is players are far more conscious today. The vast majority certainly play the game in the right spirit,” Haroon added.
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