THE Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) believes the rest of the cricket world should follow the England and Wales Cricket Board’s lead and call short-term amnesties to encourage the reporting of corruption. The recommendation is one of 11 included in a report by the MCC’s world cricket committee for consideration by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
The committee also recommends life bans for the most serious corruption offences, the use of “mystery shoppers” where players or officials are suspected of foul play and the use of lie detector tests on individuals under suspicion.
The ECB announced an amnesty programme last month in a bid to bring information about corruption in the game to light while offering a level of protection to those coming forward. The window for reporting information runs until April 30.
The amnesty was announced after former Essex player Mervyn Westfield admitted a corruption charge. Westfield has since been sentenced to four months in prison and has been issued with an interim suspension order by the ECB pending a disciplinary hearing.
The world cricket committee believes the ECB’s approach is one which all national boards should follow, and also supported the work of the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU).
Steve Waugh, who led the committee’s anti-corruption working party and was instrumental in producing the report, said: “Cricket’s administrators need to be bold in their actions and cannot be complacent in the fight against corruption. I have for some time advocated the idea of amnesties for players or officials so I am particularly pleased to see the ECB’s stance on this issue.
“I now hope that the ICC take on board what our committee and what players around the world are saying and we can stamp out corruption in the sport.”
Committee chairman Mike Brearley said: “I am in no doubt that corruption is the biggest danger facing the game of cricket today. The publication of our report today shows, I believe, MCC’s unqualified support to all cricketing bodies that are determined to rid the sport of this stain.
“Following our recent meeting in Cape Town, and subsequent discussions within our group, I think the committee recognises that corruption will be defeated or kept to an absolute minimum only if the problem is owned by the players, and they feel that they are on the same side as the ACSU.
It is crucial that the two groups are as open and cooperative with each other as possible.”
Prior to Westfield’s sentencing, Pakistan cricketers Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were last year jailed for their part in a spot-fixing plot in their country’s Test series against England during the summer of 2010.
The trio were each banned from the sport for five years by the ICC, with Butt and Asif also handed additional five and two-year suspended bans. (PA Sport)