ECB rejects 'county cricket being lucrative match-fixing market' claim

London, Mar 12(ANI): The England Cricket Board has reacted angrily to claims that county games in this country were a lucrative new market for Indian-based match-fixers because "nobody monitors them".

"The message is getting home through our zero-tolerance approach, our education systems and possible impact on careers and livelihoods. But there must be no complacency nor standing still on this issue," the Daily Express quoted a source, as saying.

He added that there is not a single player any dressing room on the English county circuit, who is still unaware of the work being done by the ECB Anti-Corruption Unit or the possible damage to their career of being caught spot-fixing.

His comments came after an undercover sting operation by Britain's Sunday Times revealed claims by Indian bookmaker Vicky Seth that English county games and international matches, including the Indian Premier League (IPL), are being fixed.

"They are low-profile matches and nobody monitors them. That's why good money can be made there without any hassle," he had said.

The spectre of spot-fixing has never been more apparent than it is now, particularly in the UK where three Pakistani cricketers were jailed last year for their part in rigging parts of a Lord's Test and a county cricketer, Mervyn Westfield, is in prison for accepting 6,000 pounds to bowl badly in a 2009 match. (ANI)