ICC rubbishes Ashes spot-fixing claims

LONDON: The International Cricket Council has clean bowled claims the third Ashes Test had been “corrupted” after claims in a British newspaper that bookmakers offered to fix parts of the match.
The Sun newspaper published purported evidence of bookmakers offering to sell details of rigged periods of play for betting purposes in the Test which began yesterday in Perth.
ICC anti-corruption unit General Manager Alex Marshall launched an investigation and declared that there was absolutely no evidence that the clash was tainted.
“From my initial assessment of the material, there is no evidence, either from The Sun or via our own intelligence, to suggest the current Test match has been corrupted,” Marshall said in a statement.
“At this stage of the investigation, there is no indication that any players in this Test have been in contact with the alleged fixers.
“The allegations are wide-ranging and relate to various forms of cricket in several countries, including T20 tournaments. We will look closely at all the information as part of our investigation.”
Marshall said police had not been contacted over the claims.
“Nothing has been referred as yet because we are still assessing the information. If we deem that offenses have taken place in countries where match-fixing is illegal then, yes, we will work with the local police and report our concerns and share information to push for prosecution.”
The Sun said it conducted a four-month investigation, with interviews conducted at hotels in New Delhi and Dubai with two men claiming to be involved in illegal gambling.
“Before the match, I will tell you this over, this runs and then you have to put all the bets on that over,” a man says in the newspaper’s undercover video footage.
During the video, information on fixes is estimated to be worth around $150,000.
Cricket Australia Chief Executive James Sutherland said he spoke with Marshall about the allegations, and wondered why the story was published on the day the third Test began.
“There’s no substance to these allegations or justification to suspect that this Test match or indeed the Ashes series as a whole is subject to corrupt activities,” Sutherland told a news conference at the WACA.
“My comments today are based on a briefing I’ve had from Alex Marshall and I don’t think for one moment anyone should believe that we’re complacent. The timing is a bit strange, obviously, but I guess I’ll leave that to Alex to make judgments on what the reason behind this might be.”
Meanwhile, England enjoyed the better of day one of the Test in Perth with Dawid Malan ending the day on 110 not out, the side’s first century of the series.
The tourists began day two earlier this morning on 305 for four, having won the toss and elected to bat. Australia dominated the early exchanges, having England at 131 for four at one stage. But Malan was joined by Jonny Bairstow (75 not out) and the pair put on an unbeaten 174 for the fifth wicket to give the day to the tourists.
England went into the match 2-0 down in the series and needing a win to keep their Ashes hopes alive. And Malan said the fact the pressure was on made his maiden Test ton all the more emotional.
“Nice to do it under pressure and when the team needs it,” the left-hander said.
“I was so emotional (reaching 100). I didn’t really know what to do, I almost started crying when it happened. To do it in front of my parents, the sacrifices they made. It’s nice to repay them.
“With anything you do, you need self-belief, to feel like you belong. When you get your first hundred, you have that belief to trust your game. I might never get a run again, but you still have the belief to perform at the highest level.
“I do like to be positive. I walked out and thought, ‘I have nothing to lose, see the ball, hit the ball and do what comes naturally’.
“You lie in bed at night thinking about scoring a hundred, I didn’t even know what to do. You always play it through your head about how you’re going to score a hundred at some point.”