Tweet
MAFIA LINK TO MATCH-FIXING
By Myles Hodgson, PA Sport Cricket Correspondent
Lord MacLaurin fears "mafia-type organisations" could be the sinister power behind the match-fixing problem which is plaguing the game of cricket.
The England and Wales Cricket Board chairman has already taken a leading stand against corruption in the game by persuading the International Cricket Council, the world's governing body, to hold an emergency meeting at Lord's earlier this month to discuss the issue.
Several reforms were agreed, including a list of penalties ranging from five-year to life bans, while MacLaurin convinced every member of the executive committee to sign a declaration opening up their private and business accounts to scrutiny.
But on Friday, speaking on BBC Radio's Test Match Special, MacLaurin refused to let the issue drop and revealed his suspicions that the criminal underworld could be the driving force behind cricket's corruption.
"It could be the case that as well as the players, it's also the administrators who need investigating," said MacLaurin. "There's a lot of money sloshing around the game, not just in betting but also in television deals.
"My fear is there could be mafia-type organisations who are involved behind the scenes and that the international players are becoming pawns in a power game."
MacLaurin accepted his beliefs would astound the game's many followers, but insisted that despite the recent inquiry, cricket's rulers may only have scratched the surface of the problem.
"I know it's an extraordinary idea but it could be the case that criminal mafia are infiltrating areas of cricket - we just don't know how bad the situation is," he admitted.
"It's possible that our own game in England has problems we don't know about. I've been in business long enough not to be naive about the world.
"Police inquiries are on-going in this country into the match-fixing issue. I'd like to think the game is clean, but we have to be vigilant."
MacLaurin also revealed he had visited Chris Lewis, whose claims that an Indian sports promoter had identified three England players involved in match-fixing prompted the ECB to launch their own inquiry into corruption.
That investigation cleared all England players of wrong-doing and MacLaurin wrote a letter to all 18 first class counties criticising Lewis, but decided to take no disciplinary action against him.
Since then, MacLaurin has taken steps to heal any rift between Lewis and the Board and went to visit during Leicestershire's recent visit to Old Trafford.
"I went to see Chris for a long chat at Old Trafford along with Leicestershire's chairman Roger Goadby," he explained. "It was a chance to clear the air with him and let Chris know he did the right thing by coming forward with information.
"My impression is that Chris did appreciate the conversation we had. He told me how he wanted to get on with his cricket and try to regain a place in the England team and that's what he needs now - to be allowed to play his cricket."
The ECB later issued a statement backing MacLaurin's remarks with a spokesman saying: "We're fully supportive of the chairman's remarks and like him, we are committed to rooting out all forms of corruption in the game."
By Myles Hodgson, PA Sport Cricket Correspondent
Lord MacLaurin fears "mafia-type organisations" could be the sinister power behind the match-fixing problem which is plaguing the game of cricket.
The England and Wales Cricket Board chairman has already taken a leading stand against corruption in the game by persuading the International Cricket Council, the world's governing body, to hold an emergency meeting at Lord's earlier this month to discuss the issue.
Several reforms were agreed, including a list of penalties ranging from five-year to life bans, while MacLaurin convinced every member of the executive committee to sign a declaration opening up their private and business accounts to scrutiny.
But on Friday, speaking on BBC Radio's Test Match Special, MacLaurin refused to let the issue drop and revealed his suspicions that the criminal underworld could be the driving force behind cricket's corruption.
"It could be the case that as well as the players, it's also the administrators who need investigating," said MacLaurin. "There's a lot of money sloshing around the game, not just in betting but also in television deals.
"My fear is there could be mafia-type organisations who are involved behind the scenes and that the international players are becoming pawns in a power game."
MacLaurin accepted his beliefs would astound the game's many followers, but insisted that despite the recent inquiry, cricket's rulers may only have scratched the surface of the problem.
"I know it's an extraordinary idea but it could be the case that criminal mafia are infiltrating areas of cricket - we just don't know how bad the situation is," he admitted.
"It's possible that our own game in England has problems we don't know about. I've been in business long enough not to be naive about the world.
"Police inquiries are on-going in this country into the match-fixing issue. I'd like to think the game is clean, but we have to be vigilant."
MacLaurin also revealed he had visited Chris Lewis, whose claims that an Indian sports promoter had identified three England players involved in match-fixing prompted the ECB to launch their own inquiry into corruption.
That investigation cleared all England players of wrong-doing and MacLaurin wrote a letter to all 18 first class counties criticising Lewis, but decided to take no disciplinary action against him.
Since then, MacLaurin has taken steps to heal any rift between Lewis and the Board and went to visit during Leicestershire's recent visit to Old Trafford.
"I went to see Chris for a long chat at Old Trafford along with Leicestershire's chairman Roger Goadby," he explained. "It was a chance to clear the air with him and let Chris know he did the right thing by coming forward with information.
"My impression is that Chris did appreciate the conversation we had. He told me how he wanted to get on with his cricket and try to regain a place in the England team and that's what he needs now - to be allowed to play his cricket."
The ECB later issued a statement backing MacLaurin's remarks with a spokesman saying: "We're fully supportive of the chairman's remarks and like him, we are committed to rooting out all forms of corruption in the game."
Comment