Australian cricketers "have been given an app to dob in match fixers and cheats as part of an integrity crackdown," according to Peter Rolfe of the HERALD SUN. Determined to "stamp out corruption," Cricket Australia armed Aussie players with "the smartphone app allowing them to record and share suspicions with authorities." Aussie players "have been encouraged" to use their phones before and after play at the Boxing Day test against England to "log any suspected dodgy activity they encounter." CA spokesperson Tim Whittaker confirmed a smartphone app was developed to allow players to "screen grab" any suspicious activity and report it. The move "follows claims this month of match fixers trying to rig" the third Ashes Test in Perth, Big Bash League and Indian Premier League games. The new "third party reporting software" allows players and officials to report issues to the CA Integrity Unit "discretely and, if necessary, anonymously." They can "also report issues via a direct URL, a code included on posters visible to players, a corruption hotline and to integrity officers" (HERALD SUN, 12/28).
LINGERING TENSION: In Sydney, Andrew Wu reported The Australian Cricketers' Association "is seeking a meeting" with the CA board to "try to avoid a repeat of the damaging pay war which crippled the game this year." It has been "nearly five months since the bitter dispute was resolved" but tensions "remain on both sides despite Australia's successful Ashes campaign." The "most recent point of contention" was over fines to players for "slow over rates" in the men's and women's BBL, with the ACA "believing them to be unnecessary." Both the board and the union said that they have "conducted reviews over their handling of the dispute but neither party has admitted any fault." One of the findings from the ACA's post-mortem was that it "needed stronger engagement with CA's top brass." The ACA is keen to not be seen as the "opposition" despite some of the "strident views it holds against CA's initiatives" such as the schedule, use of Dukes balls and the introduction of a CA XI development team in the JLT Cup (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 12/28).
