Independent Inquiry exonerates Martin Crowe

Former New Zealand Cricket captain, Martin Crowe, has been exonerated of any wrongdoing by the independent Inquiry commissioned by the New Zealand Cricket Board

New Zealand Cricket

31-Jul-2001

Former New Zealand Cricket captain, Martin Crowe, has been exonerated of any wrongdoing by the independent Inquiry commissioned by the New Zealand Cricket Board.

The Report, co-authored by Sir Ian Barker and Nick Davidson Q.C., was formally received by the New Zealand Cricket Board at its meeting today.

Chairman, Sir John Anderson, said the New Zealand Cricket Board fully accepted the Inquiry findings and thanked the Inquiry team for their detailed and thorough investigation of the issues and their clear and concise conclusions.

"The Board fully accepts the principal findings of the Inquiry: that former New Zealand Cricket captain, Martin Crowe, was unfairly accused, and there is no evidence of any wrongdoing on his part.

"The Board believes the 'name and shame' approach of the initial Indian CBI report offended principles of natural justice.

"Martin Crowe can hold his head high in the knowledge that he has been exonerated by this rigorous and independent Inquiry. The Board accepts the allegations of corruption against Martin were without substance and considers the matter now closed," Sir John said.

The Inquiry concluded:

Based on the evidence before this Inquiry, Martin Crowe's name has been most unfairly sullied. His conduct, and his credibility before the Inquiry, are strongly in support of the image of an honest man who has told the truth.

Martin Crowe has played his part in endeavouring to clear up the issues surrounding MK Gupta's allegations. He is entitled now to move on, without the cloud of corrupt practice over him.

By this Report, Martin Crowe is cleared of any wrongful practice. His reputation should stand untarnished.

The Inquiry team did everything in its power to substantiate the evidence of the bookmaker, MK Gupta, but was frustrated by Gupta's own refusal to cooperate with the Inquiry.

The Inquiry made the following comments about the principal points of factual discrepancy between the untested information supplied by Gupta and the accepted tested evidence of Martin Crowe:

MK Gupta asserted that he had visited New Zealand in 1991, where he met with Martin Crowe, lunching with the then New Zealand captain and his then-wife, Simone, at the couple's home. Crowe denied ever meeting Gupta. The New Zealand Immigration Service, after an exhaustive search on behalf of the Inquiry, has advised there is no record of anyone using the Indian passport issued to Gupta having visited New Zealand in 1991 or 1992.

Gupta asserted that he paid Martin Crowe US$20,000 in cash for information about weather conditions, state of the pitch, and team composition, and that Crowe knew from the outset that he was a bookmaker. Crowe denies receiving US$20,000. He denies knowing Gupta was a bookmaker, believing him to be a journalist. Crowe agreed to a fee of US$3,000 (then NZ$5,000) for information which would be used across a series of ten newspaper articles during the 1992 World Cup. In actual fact he provided information of this nature on two occasions before he was asked by Gupta to fix a match and then immediately terminated any further contact. Crowe has subsequently discovered on examining his financial records that the payment of US$3,000 was never made to his bank account as agreed.

Further the Inquiry found:

While Martin Crowe did not report the approach of MK Gupta to authorities at the time he did outline the incident to a team-mate - Mark Greatbatch. Greatbatch confirmed to the Inquiry his recollection of Crowe's state of shock in being approached. Whilst believing it would have been prudent to have reported the approach to NZC, the Inquiry accepted that Crowe felt he had dealt with the matter successfully.

The Inquiry team had a good opportunity to assess Martin Crowe's credibility, and to consider all his evidence. The team concluded that Crowe is an honest man and has told the truth, publicly and before the Inquiry. Crowe is entitled now to move on without the cloud of corrupt practice over him.

The principal findings of the Inquiry are contained in a four page summary which is attached, however copies of the full 60-page report are available to bonafide media representatives on request.

Martin Crowe New Zealand