Lord Alexander calls for players to receive pay rise

Lord Alexander of Weedon, the new President of the MCC, has issued a call for cricketers to receive pay rises to help counter the threat of match-fixing.

"Cricketers need to be paid more so that they can resist the temptation of the bookmakers and besides that, the International Cricket Council needs to take positive steps to stop match-fixing," he commented.

"The ICC clearly needs to do something about match-fixing because we all share the passion for cricket and the game can only progress if it is clean. All cricket boards need to increase the pay scale of their players within the available income."

Lord Alexander also appealed to the national cricket boards to lend their support to the ICC. They have set up an anti-corruption body to advise as to what action to take to clean up the game.

"It is also up to the respective boards to accept the ICC's recommendations about match-fixing," Lord Alexander continued. "It's not in the ICC's jurisdiction to take action against any particular player involved in this malpractice."