Stewart denies ever taking money from bookmaker

Alec Stewart today categorically denied ever taking money from a bookmaker in exchange for information after being named in a report into match-fixing by India's Central Bureau of Investigation.

The report alleges Mukesh Kumar Gupta told investigators he had paid Stewart £5,000 for information on pitch, weather conditions and team composition after being introduced to the former England captain by Indian all-rounder Manoj Prabhakar in 1993.

A statement from the England and Wales Cricket Board said: "The ECB have spoken to Alec Stewart about allegations made by an Indian bookmaker Mukesh Gupta in a report published today by the Indian government on match-fixing and related malpractices.

"Alec Stewart has fully cooperated with the ECB over this matter, and has categorically denied to Lord MacLaurin, chairman of the ECB, and Tim Lamb, chief executive, that he has ever taken money from Mr Gupta or anyone else, for providing information related to a cricket match.

"In fact, he denies ever knowingly having met Mr Gupta."

Their statement continued: "The ECB have also proposed that Sir Paul Condon, head of the ICC's anti-corruption unit, be asked on behalf of all the cricket boards who have had players named in the Indian government report to investigate those claims further and to see if there is any evidence to corroborate any of them.

"In that event the ECB will fully cooperate with Sir Paul Condon's investigations and will await further developments. In the meantime, Alec Stewart will not be suspended from playing cricket for England and will remain with the team in Pakistan."