[image: A sting operation carried out by Al Jazeera has alleged that theIndia vs Australia Test in Ranchi last year was fixed.]
DUBAI – A sting operation has claimed to unearth ‘pitch-fixing’ and‘spot-fixing’ in Test matches featuring heavyweights like India, Englandand Australia but the ICC said its investigation into the allegations isbeing hampered by the channel’s refusal to share evidence.
The sting has been carried out by the Al Jazeera channel and the matches inquestion are India vs Sri Lanka (Galle, July 26-29, 2017), India vsAustralia (Ranchi, March 16-20, 2017) and India vs England (Chennai,December 16-20, 2016). The first and third Tests mentioned were won byIndia while the Ranchi encounter ended in a draw.
The charges — pitch could have been doctored at the behest of fixers(India vs Sri Lanka), and involvement of some Australian and Englandplayers in spot-fixing the other two games. However, no Indian player’sname has cropped up in any wrongdoing.
The ICC said it is investigating but also stated that the channel has notcooperated in the matter.
“We have been in ongoing dialogue with the broadcaster which has refusedour continual requests to cooperate and share information which hashampered our investigation to date,” ICC’s Anti-Corruption Unit GeneralManager Alex Marshal said in a statement after Al Jazeera aired itshour-long documentary, ‘Cricket’s Match Fixers’, today.
“The content of the programme is, of course, useful to the investigation,but I would now urge the production team to provide us with all un-editedand unseen evidence they are in possession of, to enable us to expedite athorough investigation,” he added.
The only Indian connection to the scandal is former Mumbai cricketer RobinMorris, who is now alleged to be a match-fixer. The BCCI said it would waitfor the outcome of the ICC investigation before deciding on stopping hispension for a 42-match first-class career.
“The BCCI anti-corruption unit is working closely with the ICCanti-corruption unit on the alleged claims by a television channel,” stateda release from the Board.
“We believe the ICC has started its probe. Let them complete that andpronounce Morris guilty. The BCCI will only act when they have the verdictin hand,” a senior office-bearer of the Board told PTI.
He also said that Morris, who has also played 51 List A matches in hiscareer, is currently not involved in any BCCI projects.
“We need to check with our Anti Corruption Unit (ACU) whether Morris’ namewas there on the suspect list. Secondly, he is not associated with any BCCIor state unit project currently from where we need to pull him out.
“So the only thing left is BCCI domestic cricketers’ pension of Rs 22,500(after deductions). If he is getting that pension, BCCI is well within itsrights to cancel that but only after he has been proven guilty,” theofficial said.
Morris, on his part, reportedly denied any wrongdoing and cried conspiracybefore turning his mobile phone off and deleting his Facebook account.
Cricket Australia too responded cautiously and said it would need moredetails before acting.
“Although not having been provided an opportunity to view the documentaryor any raw footage, our long-standing position on these matters is thatcredible claims will be treated very seriously and fully investigated,” CAChief Executive James Sutherland said in a statement.
“Neither the ICC or Cricket Australia is aware of any credible evidencelinking Australian players to corruption in the game.
“We urge Al Jazeera to provide all unedited materials and any otherevidence to the ICC investigation team, so, if appropriate, a full andthorough investigation can be conducted,” he added.
England and Wales Cricket Board Chief Executive Tom Harisson, on the otherhand, outrightly rejected the allegations surrounding the 2016India-England Test in Chennai.
“There is nothing we have seen that would make us doubt any of our playersin any way whatsoever,” Harrison said in an ECB statement.
“The limited information we have been given has been discussed with all theEngland players. They emphatically deny the allegations, have statedcategorically that the claims are false and they have our full support.”
Harisson also said that the TV channel has refused to share footage.
“There have been repeated requests for any evidence and unedited materialsto be shared with the ICC so they can fully investigate. We, like othermember boards, are disappointed that Al Jazeera have not been morecooperative and responsible when making such serious allegations,” he said.
In the documentary, Morris is seen introducing Galle curator TharangaIndika to the undercover reporter and boasting about getting pitchesdoctored as sought by fixers.
Morris, along with former Pakistan cricketer Hasan Raza (world recordholder for being youngest ever Test cricketer), is allegedly seen in thevideo bragging about their ability to doctor pitches through groundsmen.
Another alleged match-fixer Aneel Munawar is also seen claiming tomanipulate particular sessions of the game.
The channel claims that Munawar works for the underworld. In thedocumentary, which is titled Cricket’s Match-Fixers, Al Jazeera has allegedthat each one of the predictions made by Munawar came true during the gamesin Ranchi and Chennai
The channel has, however, refrained from naming the players it alleged wereinvolved, citing legal reasons and an ongoing probe by the ICC.
*Sri Lanka Cricket suspends two*
Sri Lanka Cricket on Sunday suspended a player and a groundsman whoallegedly agreed to tamper with the pitch to alter the result of anupcoming Test against England, as police launched an investigation into theclaims.
The Sri Lankan board (SLC) said it had suspended the curator of the GalleInternational Stadium as well as a professional player, who were featuredin an Al Jazeera documentary on corruption in cricket.
The board also lodged a complaint with the local police, who launched acriminal investigation into the scandal exposed by the Doha-basedtelevision network.
“Sri Lanka Cricket decided to suspend with immediate effect the allegedindividuals involved in the said incident against whom the ICC is carryingout investigations,” the board said.