Match-fixing attempts for World Cup thwarted - Condon

Cricket's two big events, the World Cup in South Africa and the ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka, made the past 12 months the most challenging for the Anti Corruption Unit (ACU) since 2000.

In making his comments in the International Cricket Council's annual report, Lord Condon, the chairman of the (ACU), said that had it not been for preventative measures put in place, both tournaments could have been corrupted by gamblers.

"Intelligence was gathered and acted upon by the ACU in both Sri Lanka and South Africa, which revealed intentions to access players and potentially to influence events in matches. This should surprise no-one, because the threat of malpractice will never disappear as long as cricket maintains its appeal to gamblers. Fortunately preventative action was taken in these cases."

He was confident that no matches in either tournament were fixed but there were still nagging doubts about events in a small number of matches.

They might well have innocent explanations, he said, but similar events in the past had been symptomatic of individuals underperforming for betting purposes.

"Inevitably, and quite properly, any statistically significant underperformance by a team or an individual is monitored by my team and tested against expert opinion, intelligence and informants around the world."

Growth in the world-wide market of illegal gaming has grown as cricket's popularity has risen.

"More wagers, more money and more bookmakers add up to greater pressure on the game and those who play it. Turf wars between rival bookmakers have resulted in gangland killings. As vast sums changed hands on the India v Pakistan match in the ICC World Cup 2003 the continued potential for corruption and malpractice is startlingly clear."

Condon believed the implementation of his 24 recommendations two years ago had set cricket up for its future in warding off corruption.

A name change for the unit, agreed by the ICC executive board in March, will see it called the ICC Anti Corruption and Security Unit, and would allow for a broader mandate. It would be responsible for longer-term prevention of malpractice as well as investigation of alleged or suspected corruption.

Condon is to become chairman of the unit with responsibility for performance and strategy while his deputy Jeff Rees will become general manager and chief investigator.

Condon warned that cricket could never relax or become complacent on the corruption issue.

"If it does, the problem will inevitably return. No-one at the ICC is prepared to allow that to happen and the newly-defined role and remit of the ICC Anti Corruption and Security Unit is proof of that long-term commitment."