Bacher breaks silence on match-fixing scandal

Johannesburg - Further match-fixing revelations said to involve the results of two World Cup matches in England last year are to be investigated by the International Cricket Council as part of their global probe into gambling abuses of the game.

This follows startling disclosures by Dr Ali Bacher yesterday when he broke his silence of the allegations scandal which also involve South Africa's discredited former captain Hansie Cronje.

The United Cricket Board managing director confirmed he had been made aware, during his international travels during the past three years, of the practice of match fixing. His informants, he said were "former international players of integrity" but did not give any names.

"If you add this to the revelations now emerging in South Africa, I am as confident as one can be that match fixing and match manipulation have taken place in world cricket," he said.

Although Dr Bacher did not provide specific examples, there are suspicions that when Bangladesh beat Pakistan, who had already qualified for the Super Sixes, at Wantage Road in Northampton almost 11 months ago that something unsavory had taken place. The rumour mill, fuelled by speculation in the Australian press, suggest a second match was involved but sources say it does not affect Australia, India or South Africa.

Rumours were rife in Sri Lanka during the Aiwa Cup triangular series last year involving Australia and India as well as Sri Lanka that millions of rupees had changed hands as a result of two World Cup games. The claims were made by Indian supporters during the opening matches Galle and later the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

On another front South Africa's planned probe into "Hansiegate" has been seriously stalled between government departments with no sign of the name of the judge who will handle the commission of inquiry. It is understood that the Department of Sport and Recreation have yet to contact the Department of Justice and the UCB are now said to be pressing for action "as a matter of urgency".

This follows a demand by a number of international players "to clean up the game" and for the International Cricket Council to act strongly on those bringing the sport into disrepute.

It also appears there are realistic hopes that the New Delhi police are going to shed more light on the Cronje match-fixing claims by releasing another transcript of the tapes. So far they have been coy about commenting when further transcripts of the 14 tapes they say they have will be released.

It is two weeks since they went public and implicated Cronje in match-fixing charges planned during the limited-overs series in India in mid-March and which involved Herschelle Gibbs, Nicky Boje and Pieter Strydom.

Gibbs and Boje have been since offered new contracts by the United Cricket Board and were among the 16 players selected for the tour of Sri Lanka and Australia later in the year. Strydom, however, has been axed from both senior and A Team squads and not given even a limited one-year contract.

Whether any transcripts are to be released to Jagmohan Dalmiya, the Calcutta-based president of the International Cricket Council, in time for the crisis meeting at Lord's on May 2 and 3 is uncertain. Understandably there is much curiosity about what is on the tapes.

There is growing hope that the Lord's meeting in the ICC's clock tower offices is going to either launch a major ICC-sponsored probe into all match-fixing claims or deliver an instruction to all full-member and associate member countries to conduct urgent judicial style inquiries as in South Africa.

It has also been suggested that even small tournaments as well as six-a-side events in various parts of the globe also have been affected. An unnamed past South African player admitted earlier this week to being approached by a bookmaker contact to pass on information of who was playing, the state of the pitch and weather conditions for one such venture.

This comes after Dr Bacher, already stunned by the Cronje revelations, is to have "one-on-one" discussions with Andrew Hudson and Brian McMillan as well as other members of that side after their claims of being offered $20 000 each to throw the end of tour benefit match as part of the $250 000 offer. Played in Mumbai on December 14, 1996 with Mohinder Amarnath to be the beneficiary, the game was "upgraded" to a full international hours before the match took place. A number of the players were ill with Dave Richardson wicketkeeper confined to bed and Gary Kirsten filling in for him.

During his media conference in Durban in which Cronje "attempted to clear the air about the allegations" the deposed captain said the "claim was laughed off" by the players. It now appears he went back to the team more than twice to discuss the offer.

This supports claims of approaches to players by bookmakers inside and outside the Asian sub-continent with former England all-rounder Chris Lewis whose allegations that three England players have been involved have been passed from the England and Wales Cricket Board to Scotland Yard.

There is growing suspicion, too, that the carbuncle which the New Delhi police lanced two weeks ago when they uncovered the Crone conversations and put them on tape, is so large and rotten that it is going to implicate more than players: administrators, umpires, ground staff and even journalists, both print and electronic, could be investigated.

Reports from the judicial inquiries ordered by Indian and Pakistan cricket boards are now about to be open to investigation.

The ICC and their members need to acknowledge the seriousness of the infiltration of criminal elements within the sport. There is also a need to embark on a major cleansing programme and tighten player contracts with certain key clauses linked to the ICC code of conduct.

Supporting this is a growing body of opinion within some member nations that the ICC should reconstitute and improve their mechanics of governance: to get rid of the old pals and schools tie image and have a permanent executive with global powers to handle damage control and minimise its effects.

It means the nine full members need to let go a degree of control and authorise the central secretariat to act on their behalf.

What is disturbing is that there is still a large pro-Cronje sentiment in South Africa, based on the view is that he did nothing more than did Shane Warne and Mark Waugh in giving such information. They escaped with a fine, and paid up and are still playing. The difference here is that the two players went to their board and admitted wrong-doing which the board covered up for some months. In Cronje's case his denial to the United Cricket Board was later exposed.

More disturbing still was Shaun Pollock's comment after beating Australia at the Wanderers last Sunday to clinch the series 2-1 by saying the result was dedicated to their former captain. This may be simply the team paying a tribute to Cronje the player and not the fallen idol, but in the circumstances was unwise.

With still no sign of the name of the judge to handle the government probe into the match-fixing drama, there is growing frustration in South Africa about the delay in the mechanics to be involved in the commission of inquiry.

Dr Bacher confirmed earlier this week the UCB would prefer the findings of the commission if inquiry into the allegations to be made public.

"Ultimately, in the best interests of world cricket that whatever the report is, it has to go public," he said as the UCB further distanced themselves from the man they sacked as captain on the eve of the challenge series against Australia.

"It is up to the judge to decide what form the inquiry should take (open or closed) but we would prefer an open inquiry," he agreed.

Dr Bacher also said that fast bowler Allan Donald has agreed to sign an 18 months contract with the UCB which is to start in October. It means he is available to play for South Africa until the end of the 2001/02 season with India scheduled to tour South Africa in October, November and December 2001