‘A dark cloud over SA cricket’
DOLPHINS captain Morné van Wyk has described the current scandal about match-fixing in South Africa as a “sad and dark day for the game” and claimed it could be far worse than the Hansie Cronjé affair.
Van Wyk was responding to this week’s claim by cricket commentator and writer Neil Manthorp that the ringleader of the match-fixing in domestic matches is a former Protea.
It is also understood that Cricket SA (CSA) are preparing a legal case against a number of domestic players for corruption during this season’s tournament. They are expected to be charged with the lesser transgression of “failure to report” suspicious or illegal activity.
Last month, CSA announced that its anti-corruption and security unit had charged an “intermediary” under its anti-corruption code for “contriving to fix, or otherwise improperly influence aspects” of the recently completed domestic T20 tournament, the Ram Slam Challenge.
Although the suspect was required to respond to the charges via the unit, the national board has not revealed his identity or made any further public statement about the investigation.
“There’s even less excuse for people nowadays because players have all been educated about match- or spot-fixing and corruption generally. So when players try to line their pockets today, they know exactly what they’re doing,” Van Wyk said. He urged CSA to move quickly to bring the guilty to book.
“A dark cloud is sitting over the game, but now the cat is out of the bag and CSA can’t wish it away. We need to be told who the perpetrators are. The investigation needs to be prompt and thorough and the sentence or sentences need to be severe.”
It is understood that a number of domestic players were approached by the ringleader, starting with the (televised) Africa T20 Cup at the start of the season and continuing through the Ram Slam T20 Challenge.
“If players come forward and talk, we may discover that other games and other competitions have been tainted. “I would certainly like to know whether games that I have played in, and teammates I have played with, are on the level or not,” Van Wyk said.