ECB chief Clarke vows to stamp out corruption

LONDON — England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) Chairman Giles Clarke insists his organisation will do everything in its' power to combat the growing threat of corruption.

In the wake of the jailing of three Pakistan Test players and after former Essex player Mervyn Westfield this week admitted accepting £6,000 to spot-fix a match between his county and Durham, Clarke believes efforts to deal with corruption must be renewed.

Westfield is to be sentenced on February 10 and the ECB has opened what it calls a reporting window to allow players and officials to give information on past approaches without fear of punishment.

Clarke has called on players to make use of the system now in place to alert the sport's authorities to attempts to fix any part of the game.

"For all of us in cricket we are now having to come to terms with anything being feasible. The need for being vigilant is total," said Clarke on BBC Radio Five.

Clarke knows the stench of corruption is damaging for cricket's image and he is determined to ensure the recent incidents aren't allowed to become a lingering problem.

"It can't be allowed to exist in our game. It is so important that this system of informing and saying what is going on, when it is not allowed and it is illegal, actually exists," he added. "I think that many players simply might not have thought seriously about something because they wouldn't have regarded it as real."