Clarke leads way for Lions

JOE Clarke top-scored with 87 as England Lions’ warm-up game against a Jamaica XI ended in a draw at Sabina Park.

The Worcestershire batsman fell 13 runs short of a century, sharing in vital half-century stands with Dan Lawrence and Ben Foakes respectively.

The Lions lost their last five wickets for 39 runs, leaving the hosts 258 for victory, as off-spinner Jamie Merchant claimed five wickets.

Paul Coughlin and Jack Leach led the attack for the Lions, taking two wickets apiece, to restrict Jamaica to 130 for four in their chase.

Left-arm paceman George Garton is a doubt for Sunday’s first match against West Indies A due to a side injury.

The International Cricket Council has finished its investigation into allegations of match-fixing made in December and found no evidence of any games being “corrupted”.

The Sun newspaper ran reports late last year based on a fourmonth undercover investigation into bookmakers from India.

It was reported on the eve of the third Ashes Test in Perth that two bookmakers, Sobers Joban and Priyank Saxena, claimed they could fix games in the Australian Big Bash T20 competition, the Indian Premier League and the Ashes.

The sport’s governing body immediately opened an investigation into these claims but has found no proof of any wrongdoing on the part of players or officials.

In a statement, the ICC’s anticorruption general manager Alex Marshall said: “We have carried out an extensive global investigation with anti-corruption colleagues from member countries based on the allegations in The Sun and the material they shared with us.

“I am satisfied that there is no evidence to suggest any match has been corrupted by the individuals in the investigation nor is there any indication that any international players, administrators or coaches have been in contact with the alleged fixers.”