As cricket's T20 domestic champions battle it out forsupremacy in South Africa, alarm bells are ringing that the proliferation ofsuch tournaments has "considerably increased the risk" ofmatch-fixing.
"The view of those consulted is that the arrival of T20cricket and the Indian Premier League has considerably increased the risk ofmatch-fixing and spot-fixing" said the review led by former Hong Kongsolicitor-general Bertrand de Speville.
The best known tournament is the Indian Premier League(IPL), a six-week jamboree infused with the glamour of Bollywood stars as wellas the biggest names in world cricket.
The cash-rich IPL initially snubbed an offer by the ICC'santi-corruption unit to monitor matches for the first two editions in 2008 and2009. It however decided to enlist the unit from the third year onwards. FiveIndian cricketers were suspended during this year's IPL after a sting by thesame India TV channel. Bangladesh bannedformer international Shariful Haque after he was found to have approachedcurrent star Mashrafe Mortaza for spot-fixing during its T20 tournament. Duringthe Sri Lanka Premier League in August, the country's cricket chiefs werealerted to a possible match-fixing attempt by one of the team owners.
The ICC established its anti-corruption unit (ACSU) underformer London Metropolitan police chief Paul Condon after South African skipperHansie Cronje's was banned for life over a match-fixing scandal in 2000. Theongoing Champions League T20 in South Africa is not only policed by the ICC'santi-corruption unit but also officiated by its elite panel of umpires. But notall boards work with the ICC's monitors. Bangladesh for example posted theirown security officials at their event as well as hiring their own umpires."We have already taken stringent measures to combat corruption includingspot fixing during BPL or any domestic league" said board spokesman JalalYunus. But the de Speville review said it was important to involve the ACSU inall cricket-related activities." One of the ACSU's central functions is toreceive information about corruption," the report said. "Without goodinformation about what is going on, getting to grips with the problem isimpossible."
