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R/£ Nipping corruption in the bud
November 24, 2009 Edition 1
DUNEDIN, New Zealand: The Inter- national Cricket Council will send their anti-corruption unit to next year's Under-19 World Cup to help protect the integrity of the game's future stars.
ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat yesterday said the threat of match-fixing was not confined to the elite level.
"We don't want to be complacent and be caught off guard," Lorgat said during the launch of the 16-team tournament yesterday in Dunedin, the New Zealand Press Association reported.
"We do realise from research we've done that these corrupt individuals start at an early stage in terms of trying to befriend the young and new and unsuspecting players. They will attempt to get into their heads."
The Under-19 World Cup will run from January 15-30 in New Zealand. And while Lorgat didn't offer examples of any previous corruption at the junior event, he said: "It's prevention rather than trying to cure a problem."
The ICC set up its anti-corruption unit in 2000 in the wake of match-fixing scandals which rocked the game and included allegations against former South Africa captain Hansie Cronjé, among other prominent players. Cronjé admitted taking money to influence matches.
He later died in an air crash.
A host of star players have been tangled up with bookmakers.
Australian stars Shane Warne and Mark Waugh were fined in 1998 for accepting money to provide pitch information to an Indian bookmaker during a limited-overs competition in Sri Lanka in 1994. - Sapa-AP
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