Cricket under spotlight over visa scandal claims

A widespread visa scam targeting grassroots Victorian cricket has been exposed. It’s seen the creation of fake player statistics, thousands of dollars changing hands and foreign players left high and dry.

Grassroots cricket is facing a scandal of epic proportions as reports emerge of unscrupulous agents faking statistics and demanding thousands of dollars from overseas players to help them secure sports visas to Australia.

A Herald Sun special investigation has revealed overseas players have been asked to hand over up to $10,000 to Australian agents as payment for help obtaining visas and places in suburban cricket teams in Victoria, amid allegations player profiles overseas are being doctored to aid entry.

Whistleblowers say some players fail to receive club payments they are entitled to once they reach our shores, with agents pocketing the cash.

In other cases Sri Lankan players have been crammed into accommodation organised by their agent, with one report of up to 17 people squeezed into a three-bedroom house, each paying rent.

Yet other players say they have never seen their contracts, with one Victorian sports agent slamming rogue colleagues.

Cricket Australia and Cricket Victoria said they were “deeply concerned” by the allegations, brought to light by the Herald Sun.

“There is no place for the mistreatment of players who come to play cricket in Australia, at any level. The alleged behaviour of so-called ‘player agents’ is deeply concerning, and is not something that Cricket Australia and Cricket Victoria condone in any way.

“We take these allegations very seriously and will be taking immediate action to support any investigation and the players involved,” a spokesman said.

It’s understood Australian Border Force is now also making inquiries, on the back of the Herald Sun’s investigation, and could refer the matter to Australian Federal Police.

Some players have forked out large sums to agents to come to Australia to play cricket. Picture: Getty Images

The Herald Sun has been told player statistics are sometimes falsified in profiles “at the Sri Lankan end”, to show young men have a history of playing first class cricket in their home country, in order to get Cricket Australia’s tick of approval.

It has also been learned that agents in Australia sometimes take player payments as “deductions” for services they claim to have provided, or costs they claim to have incurred, on behalf of players, such as taxis and meals after training.

A Sri Lankan player — who said he “now hated the game” after his deeply traumatic Melbourne experience — told the Herald Sun he had played just one first class game in Sri Lanka before scoring a sports visa through agent Saman “Sammy” Kandage of SK Sports to play cricket in Victoria.

He handed over $10,000 on arrival at Melbourne Airport late last year and was then provided with accommodation through the same agent in a three-bedroom, one-bathroom home with 16 other people. He described the living conditions as “like a refugee camp” and at times he feared for his life, he said.

“$10,000 is huge money in Sri Lanka,” the player, who is too scared to be named, said.

The 23 year-old, from Sri Lanka’s southwest coast, said the agent had brought about 70 young Sri Lankan cricket players to Victoria last season.

Seventeen people were crammed into this St Albans house.

The Sri Lankan cricketer said he knew people taking education courses they couldn’t afford and which were far too difficult for them.

He said players were told in Sri Lanka they could have a “sports visa organised ... for a cost” and there were a number of agents “doing these ridiculous things”.

“I personally know a few guys and they came here ... they got loans, thinking they could make money here ... they do everything to come here ... some of the players are not really talented ... not even first class cricketers, not even played good cricket back in Sri Lanka, they just paid him (the agent) money to come here,” the player said.

Players and their families were borrowing money and “selling their jewellery and land” to pay the agents, he said.

Mr Kandage did not respond to several calls and emailed questions from the Herald Sun this week.

SK Sports player agent Sammy Kandage.

West Indies player Justin Bramble.

Victorian Turf Cricket Association (VTCA) has confirmed it is “looking at all agents to ensure they are above board”, out of fear some are profiteering from the desperation of young international players to make a new life for themselves in Australia.

VTCA president Steve McNamara said its own investigation had confirmed some players had forked out large sums to agents to come to Australia to play cricket, but saw little of the payments they were supposed to receive from their respective clubs.

And he added the VTCA had received troubling reports about one Melbourne sports agent in particular, whose “tentacles spread fairly widely” across Victoria.

“We have heard whispers for a couple of years . . . a couple of players have actually come forward and suggested some of these practices were certainly wrong and I would suggest, illegal, but that needs to be proven obviously,” Mr McNamara said.

“There’s a fair number of (international player) agents who are certainly legitimate and doing the right thing, but a couple of recalcitrant people seem to be profiteering from it.”

Mr McNamara said he “absolutely” believed the practice was more widespread than Victorian district cricket and appeared to also involve the exploitation of cricketers from the West Indies.

“I know at least a couple of West Indies players were left stranded at the end of the season, last season, because the player manager walked away and didn’t pay any money . . . so they couldn’t get home,” he said.

West Indian cricketer Justin Bramble - who was left high and dry after not being paid his player payments by his agent at the end of last season - was fortunate to be taken in by the mother of the president of his former club, Strathmore, who came to his aid.

Strathmore office bearers said not having money to get home left Bramble in trouble initially, after which COVID border closures and flight cancellations further complicated matters.

The club had happily come to the rescue of the stranded West Indian player’s aid, they said,

A spokesman for the Australian Department of Home Affairs said the ‘408 visas’ allowed eligible people from overseas to play high-level sport or coach in Australia for up to two years, if they were sponsored by a club.

The application charge for the Temporary Activity (sports) visa was just $310, payable to the Australian Government at time of lodgement, it said.

A letter from a peak sporting body – such as Cricket Australia — was needed and no work was allowed outside of their playing or coaching commitments once they arrived.

Data shows the number of 408 visa holders in Australia has skyrocketed from just 322 at the end of 2016 to more than 11,000 in September last year.

Cricket Australia only gives its support to visa applications, via a letter, after seeing proof of players’ superior cricket skills.

Players must first show statistical evidence via international cricket database Cricinfo to prove they have played first class cricket in their country, as an indication that they can play, coach or instruct at the Australian national level.

Cricket Australia said all players participating in registered competitions were supported by member protection policies, which provided them with an opportunity to lodge complaints if they felt they had been mistreated.

No allegations had been made through those official player complaint channels, they said.

Cricket Australia also said clubs should pay players at least $10,000.

A whistleblower told the Herald Sun statistics “mysteriously disappeared” from some Sri Lankan players’ profiles about three months after they had obtained their visas.

It was not known how this occurred, or who was responsible, the whistleblower said.

The Department of Home Affairs spokesman said the Australian government welcomed any information about those seeking to breach Australia’s migration laws and encouraged those with information to report it immediately.

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