England face match-fixing allegations
Root insists TV claims over India clash are outrageous — but ICC investigation is under way
THREE England players were allegedly involved in a plot to fix the Chennai Test against India in December 2016 — according to claims which were described as ‘outrageous’ by captain Joe Root yesterday. The accusations were made in an Al Jazeera documentary, Cricket’s
Match Fixers, which was aired last night on the Qatar-based channel. It also
included corruption allegations against two unnamed Australian Test players. The programme prompted a blanket denial from the ECB about the England players’ involvement.
Sportsmail knows the identity of all five cricketers, but is unable to name them for legal reasons.
The ICC said last night that a full investigation into the claims is under way and that they are taking them ‘very seriously’.
The allegations against the England trio concern a ten-over spell during the fifth Test in India 17 months ago — though the timing of the ten-over spell is not specified by Al Jazeera, again because of legal sensitivities.
In the programme, Aneel Munawar, an alleged member of India’s notorious crime syndicate D Company, tells an undercover reporter posing as a businessman that certain England players agreed to manipulate the number of runs scored in the period, thereby assisting illegal bookmakers on the subcontinent in setting their odds.
It is claimed that a wealthy investor in possession of prior information can make over £1million per game, while a corrupt player can earn six figures.
The England batsmen allegedly agreed to score fewer runs than the spread set for the spell by the bookies, while the last over of the ten is designated a ‘manda’ — ‘slow’ in Hindi — meaning that no more than two runs will be scored.
Though the precise details of the alleged fix are not divulged, Al Jazeera quote the reaction of Chris Eaton, the sports integrity director at the International Centre for Sport Security and a former Interpol officer.
Given full access to the details of the alleged fixes at both Chennai and Ranchi, where Australia played India in March 2017, Eaton watched the relevant passages of play and said: ‘It’s very compelling evidence. Clearly what he (Munawar) predicted took place exactly as he predicted. The Chennai and Ranchi Tests mentioned by Munawar are worthy of serious and transparent investigation by the ICC. The fact he is able to accurately predict the end of two sessions brings their credibility into question.’
Asked about the allegations after his team had lost the first Test to Pakistan at Lord’s by nine wickets, Root said: ‘I am aware there is a documentary and it is outrageous that our players have been accused. All the players have been briefed by the ECB and have been told there’s absolutely nothing to worry about.
‘I’ve been told to strongly deny the allegations. It sounds quite ridiculous, really. As a group of players we’ve got to let the people in charge look after this. It’s for the ICC to sort out.’
Coach Trevor Bayliss also described the claims as ‘outrageous’, while ECB chief executive Tom Harrison said: ‘There is nothing we have seen that would make us doubt any of our players.
‘The information has been discussed with all the England players. They emphatically deny the allegations, have stated categorically the claims are false and they have our full support.’
Cricket’s Match Fixers includes a quote said to come from lawyers representing the three England players. It points out that Munawar is ‘a known criminal’, and adds: ‘For the batting team to fix scores to within such a degree of precision as alleged is highly improbable, if not practically impossible.’
Al Jazeera made it clear they believe no more than three England players and two Australians are involved. The Australian board said ‘neither the ICC nor Cricket Australia is aware of any credible evidence linking Australian players to corruption in the game’.
The ICC is unhappy Al Jazeera failed to share information ahead of transmission, though the broadcasters will pass on more details to the game’s governing body this week.
ICC anti-corruption boss Alex Marshall said he was ‘taking the allegations extremely seriously’. He added: ‘A full investigation led by the ICC anti-corruption unit, working with full co-operation from all member countries identified in the programme, is under way to examine each claim made.’