Sri Lanka probes attempt to bribe cricketers to lose

SRI Lankan authorities are investigating a bid to bribe members of the national cricket team to under-perform in a recent test to ensure a surprise victory for the West Indies, the government said.

Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekera said a man linked to a bookmaker had offered wicketkeeper Kusal Perera and star bowler Rangana Herath tens of thousands of dollars to engineer a Sri Lankan batting collapse at a Test in Galle in October, which the hosts went on to win emphatically.

“They wanted Sri Lanka to get out early for a very low score. This is a match Sri Lanka was expected to win, but if they lost, the bookie would have made a lot of money,” Jayasekera said.

The minister said some 10 million rupees (around $70 000) had been offered to the players to lose the match. Police had mounted a search for the suspect.

“After Kusal turned down the offer, the man approached Herath who also rejected the offer and alerted the authorities,” Jayasekera said. “We ’ ve started a police inquiry in addition to an anti-corruption probe by Sri Lanka Cricket.”

Sri Lanka beat the tourists from the Caribbean by an innings and six runs after veteran left-arm spinner Herath took 10 wickets in the match on the country ’ s south coast.

Although betting is illegal in most of the cricket-mad Indian subcontinent, there is no shortage of backstreet bookmakers – many of whom have links to the underworld.