ACU report may point fingers at three England cricketers

The interim report of International Cricket Council (ICC) anticorruption unit is likely to point fingers at three English cricketers. The report will be submitted to the ICC on May 23 but will be discussed by the Lord Griffith Code of Conduct commission on May 15 and 16.

Sir Paul Condon, chief of the ICC anti-corruption unit (ACU), is said to have mentioned the names of at least three England cricketers who were accused by their former collegue all rounder Chris Lewis. Condon has cited the names after unearthing `substantial' information with the assistance of Scotland Yard detectives.

Interestingly, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), which made a hue and cry while demanding more penalties on Pakistan cricketers when Justice Malik Mohammad Qayyum report was publicized last year, has been tight-lipped ever since the allegations were first levelled by Lewis three years ago.

No judicial or in house investigations were carried out to find substance in Lewis' allegations. The former Surrey all rounder, on the contrary, was also not barred from cricket. Last year, the Indian Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) released the names of eight former captains involved in match-fixing, including Alec Stewart.

Stewart, who has vehemently denied the charges, may once again be named in the interim report, unless specific extracts of the original report are not deleted.

The other two Englishmen are expected to be a left-arm fast bowler and an all rounder who also captained England. Barring the three Englishmen, the ACU has suggested more punishments on three former international captains Mohammad Azharuddin (India), Salim Malik (Pakistan) and Hansie Cronje (South Africa), Manoj Prabhakar (India) and Ata-ur-Rehman (Pakistan).

The ACU has recommended that the records of the five, who are already banned from cricket, be deleted from record books. The ACU interim report is basically based on its the first 12 months.

The report contains ACU's visits to different countries during which they investigated the matter and cross-examined the alleged and accusers. The document is said to have also contained statements of a few bookies, mostly Indians. In addition to this, the ACU has also made several recommendations how to curb match-fixing and keep the players away from this menace. One of the suggestions includes increase in players fee and prize money.

The ACU has also constituted a pro-forma which is suggested to be made mandatory for every player, match referee and umpire to sign.

It is recommended that it be made the responsibility of the parent organization of the cricketers and officials to get them signed and forward it to the ICC. The player found violating the contract will be liable for stiffer punishment, including through civil laws.