Spotting spot-fixing is harder in Twenty20
It is not yet clear if anything will come of the allegations of so-called "spot-fixing" against a pair of Essex cricketers
Kanishkaa Balachandran
25-Feb-2013
It is not yet clear if anything will come of the allegations of so-called "spot-fixing" against a pair of Essex cricketers. However, it would be naive in the extreme to think that fixing does not go on and, despite the best efforts at regulation. The shorter the game, the easier it is to fix outcomes, which therefore makes Twenty20 vulnerable, writes Mike Selvey in the Guardian.
Some years ago, I arrived at Lord's for a domestic final, to be greeted by a friend who likes his gamble. What, he asked, did I think would be the spread on the number of deliveries before a wide was signalled. Knowing who would be bowling the opening over and from which end, I thought the chances of a first-ball wide were extremely high. It transpired the spread was 24 to 26 deliveries. As predicted the first delivery went miles down the leg-side and my chum was instantly several thousand pounds richer.
Kanishkaa Balachandran is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo