Cricket’s war on match-fixing a constant battle, writes Russell Gould

DON’T be too quick to dismiss match-fixing allegations because it’s happening right now somewhere in the cricket world, writes Russell Gould.

Cricket Australia boss James Sutherland addresses the media about The Sun’s match-fixing investigation.

CRICKET Australia’s anti-corruption unit has created a blacklist of people suspected of having links to illegal bookmakers on the subcontinent after being forced to eject alleged pitchsiders from games in the past three summers.

Vigilance remains the number one priority, year round, as CA boss James Sutherland insisted there was no evidence to support spot-fixing claims centred on the third Ashes Test.

Suggestions up to four Big Bash games could be “fixed” were also downplayed by CA just days out from the competition kicking off.

But the BBL has been under close watch in recent summers after spectators were evicted from games both last summer and in 2015 for using laptops and other devices while sitting in the crowd.

Cricket Australia boss James Sutherland addresses the media about The Sun’s match-fixing investigation.

They were removed under suspicion of relaying ball by ball information to bookmakers and added to a “persons of interest” list kept by anti-corruption managers who are stationed at every game.

There was no suspicion of player involvement in the pitchsiding and CA maintains it has the most robust anti-corruption measures of any sport, training everyone involved, from officials to ground staff to recognise and report suspicious activity.

Players also have access to an app by which they can report approaches which remain rife in the game.

CRASH: Cricket’s match fixers know no fear

RESPONSE: CA boss rules out Ashes fix

Before the Adelaide Test the International Cricket Council’s new anti-corruption chief Alex Marshall confirmed that three international Test captains had reported approaches by would-be match-fixers in the past six weeks.

Aussie skipper Steve Smith was not among them.

And there are currently seven live investigations being conducted by the ICC’s anti-corruption unit around the world, including a major operation in Sri Lanka which began in September.

On Monday just gone the Pakistan Cricket Board banned former opener Nasir Jamshed for a year ban for failing to co-operate with investigators in a spot-fixing case that rocked the Pakistan Super League earlier this year.

Mark Waugh and Shane Warne were embroiled in a spot-fixing controversy.

Pakistan players Sharjeel Khan — who toured Australia last summer — and Khalid Latif were banned for five years in April as part of that case.

Throw in the long, and recent, list of players caught spot fixing in countries including South Africa and the presence of corruption in cricket cannot be denied.

Marshall, appointed in April after more than 30 years with the UK police, confirmed as much before the Adelaide Test, revelations which have now come in to stark focus.

Plenty moved quickly to dismiss the allegations about this Ashes Test, and that Australians could be involved.

“Show me some hard evidence,” former Test captain and CA board member Mark Taylor said, declaring he had never heard of the alleged Indian fixers, Sobers Joban and partner Priyank Saxen.

But it’s understood the BCCI anti-corruption unit in India is aware of Joban as a result of activities in the Indian Premier League.

If evidence, beyond the limited amount included in a dossier The Sun handed to the ICC, does exist recent history suggests Marshall and his ICC anti-corruption team should find it.

Marshall is back in London after a global tour talking to police bodies about information sharing which included a meeting with Australian Federal Police and other agencies in the past month.

He also has new powers to penalise players suspected of wrongdoing who refuse to surrender their mobile phones for inspection. They can be charged and face bans up to two years for non co-operation.

No Australian has ever been found guilty of match-fixing although in 1995 Test greats Shane Warne and Mark Waugh, now a national selector, were heavily fined for providing information to an Indian bookie about the state of a pitch during the Aussies’ 1994 tour of Sri Lanka.