Alex Marshall said that the ICC's anti-corruption unit is investigating approaches to int'l captains.GETTY IMAGES
Cricket’s anti-corruption police "are dealing with a record number of up to 20 cases from matches at all levels of the game," from tests down to private leagues, according to Nick Hoult of the London TELEGRAPH. It is "almost a three-fold increase in the number of cases since November last year as cricket battles constant attempts to corrupt the game" by illegal bookmaking rings mainly based in India. It "has surprised Alex Marshall," the Int'l Cricket Council’s head of anti-corruption. Marshall, who is "one year into his job," said that his team is investigating "live" approaches to int'l captains as well as reports from players, coaches, support staff and administrators. The high number of cases "is partly a reflection of players reporting more and the widening of investigations" to include those not covered by the ICC's anti-corruption code, such as bookmakers and third parties. Four int'l captains "have reported approaches in the past year -- two resulted in charges and the others remain under live investigation" (TELEGRAPH, 8/7).
HOLDING PATTERN: Hoult also reported anti-corruption detectives "have identified all the players and individuals who were featured in the recent undercover match-fixing documentary by Al Jazeera," but will not be able to take the case further "until the broadcaster hands over all its unedited footage." It appears some of the claims in the program were "boastful," but it is "too early to state categorically" whether offenses were committed. The program alleged a test involving England and India in Chennai in Dec. '16 was corrupt. The players the program alleged were involved in fixing "were not named" (TELEGRAPH, 8/7).
