Sydney, Oct. 14 (ANI): Australian players' union boss Tim May has urged the ICC (International Cricket Council) to adopt a more comprehensive plan to combat the threat of corruption, particularly in the Twenty20 format.
The media sting, conducted by an Indian television network, which found six umpires from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan willing to pass on sensitive pre-match information and manipulate on-field decisions during warm-up matches for the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka, was no surprise to those who follow the sport closely, as the T20 format is open to manipulation through its fast-paced and often unorthodox nature.
While Australia's Big Bash League is said to be clean, May, who runs the Federation of International Cricketers Association (FICA), admitted he had concerns about bookies infiltrating Twenty20 cricket, particularly at a domestic club level on the subcontinent.
"FICA is concerned about the surge of T20 events, particularly in some countries where they are not equipped to provide the appropriate education to players. There are so many young guys being introduced to a landscape of potential corruption for the first time in their lives and have no clue how the corrupters may seek to 'hook' them," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted May, as saying.
"It should also cover ICC approving or providing on-ground surveillance at all such events, it should also cover some screening of franchise owners and administrators to ensure that corruption is minimised from the administration side," he added.
Former Australian batsman Dean Jones has also urged the ICC to use "cleanskin" current players to entrap teammates or rivals they feel are on the take.
"The only way you can stop it is if players do little secret deals with players and make out they're part of the ongoing racket and see if they can catch someone," Jones said.
"I can't see any other way you are going to stop them unless you have the players agree to have full openness to all financial dealings," he added. (ANI)
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