Thorpe defends Stewart

Graham Thorpe: Fully supports Stewart Photo © Nasir Abdullah CricInfo Ltd.

Graham Thorpe has lent his support to under-fire team-mate Alec Stewart in the wake of the CBI report.

Thorpe has played with Stewart for Surrey and England for over a decade, so if anyone is in a position to provide an educated opinion, it is probably him.

Writing for cricket4.com Thorpe has expressed absolute confidence in both Stewart's integrity and his ability to focus on the cricket despite the obvious distractions.

"The news that Alec Stewart has been mentioned in the Indian match-fixing report came as a great shock to myself and the rest of the guys, but I'm confident he will come through this difficult time," writes Thorpe.

"It's a strange feeling that someone in our team has had the finger pointed at them in this way, and no matter how strong a player is, whenever he is accused of something like this it's always going to be at the back of his mind."

"When you have played with a guy and batted with him for years you get to know him pretty well and I'm convinced Alec is innocent."

"Unfortunately once anyone's name is linked with something like this, people around the world and back home are going to start jumping to the wrong conclusions."

"Having said all that, if there is one person in the game who can tough this thing out then it's Alec Stewart. Time and time again I have seen him make comebacks on the cricket field even though he has been written off."

"This time though he faces a different battle and it's how he handles it within himself that will be the telling factor. It will be very difficult for him not to let it affect his cricket, but I'm sure that he is capable of putting it to one side while he is on the playing field."

"Match-fixing has become a fashionable word in cricket over the past 18 months and, unfortunately, anyone who is linked with it, no matter how tenuous that link is, will find that mud always tends to stick," warned Thorpe.

"During the course of my career, both internationally and domestically, I have never been approached by anyone offering money or inducements to provide information or to throw a game. If I was approached it goes without saying that I would decline the offer and report it to the board."

"In many ways it's a worrying time to be a cricketer at the top level. When you are on tour you get approached by hundreds of people, either in person or ringing you in your hotel room."

"A lot of the time you don't know who they are or whether what they are telling you is the truth, after all the things that have come out in recent months we are all on our guard and suspicious of being innocently caught up in something."