Westfield to assist South Africa anti-corruption programme

Mervyn Westfield has flown to South Africa in an attempt to help to educate their cricketers about the dangers of corruption in cricket. The former Essex fast bowler was jailed for four months in 2012 for his involvement in spot-fixing in a limited-overs match against Durham in September 2009.

At that stage there was no formal anti-corruption education for county cricketers. But since he was released from prison, Westfield has played an important part in the Professional Cricketers' Association's (the players' union) anti-corruption campaign, talking about his experiences to first-year professionals at two PCA Rookie Camps and accompanying PCA staff on pre-season visits to 18 current county squads.

Westfield will now talk about his experiences in South Africa on the six-day visit, organised in collaboration with Cricket South Africa, where he will be accompanied by Jason Ratcliffe, the PCA's Assistant Chief Executive. Westfield will speak to players from 11 franchises and provincial teams in Benoni, Johannesburg, Bloemfontein, Pretoria and Centurion as well as academy players and youth coaches.

Westfield's visit comes at a time when Cricket South Africa have launched an investigation after gathering intelligence that an international syndicate is attempting to corrupt their domestic cricket. The investigation is being led by CSA's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit which is being assisted by the International Cricket Council and could involve the South African Police Services.

Westfield, who is still only 27 years old, resumed playing club cricket with Frinton in Essex last year and helped them win promotion in his first season. He hasn't played a first-team county game since 2009.

"We hope that the trip will reinforce the message that there is no place for corruption in cricket anywhere in the world," Ratcliffe said. "And that the South African cricketers and coaches we present to will learn valuable lessons from Mervyn's harrowing story and our approach to anti-corruption education under the auspices of the ECB.

"Both the England and Wales Cricket Board and PCA have led the way on player education to fight anti-corruption in recent years. Mervyn's willingness to continue telling his first-hand story, Darren Stevens' experiences in the Bangladesh Premier League, the work of the ECB's ACCESS unit and the mandatory tutorials which players must complete before they are registered to play in England further reflect this pro-active approach.

"The recent news that Cricket South Africa is investigating possible attempts to corrupt their domestic cricket makes this visit very timely indeed."