New Delhi : Promising a corruption-free World Cup, the ICC today said it has struck partnerships with law enforcement agencies in Australia and New Zealand in its endeavour to prevent bookies from associating with the players.
“Corruption in any sport is a big challenge these days. Cricket has led the way in that fight against corruption. The measures that have been put in place for this year’s cricket World Cup are probably the most stringent than ever before,” ICC CEO David Richardson said.
“For the first time, partnerships have been struck between ICC and the law enforcement agencies in both Australia and New Zealand,” Richardson said on the sidelines of an ICC event where luxury watch brand ‘Hublot’ was announced as the official timekeeper of the World Cup.
The ICC is working overtime with investigative agencies to even track down any illegal betting or bookies, who may be looking to come in contact with players.
“Our anti-corruption unit doesn’t have its own police investigatory powers but when we team up with the likes of the Australian Federal Police and New Zealand Police then that gives us the arms in our necks.
“And I can assure the people that if anybody is planning on trying to fix matches or trying to associate with players at this year’s event they will find it very difficult indeed and I can safely say that the World Cup would be free of any corruption or spot fixing,” said Richardson.
After playing a successful host in 1992, which was the first World Cup in coloured clothing, Australia and New Zealand want to go better in showcasing the 50-over format as a major attraction of the sport.
“Cricket is unique in the sense that it has got three formats of the same game. It has got something for everybody. The 50-over format I think is the perfect bridge between the traditional Test-match version and the Twenty20 short sharp version, which is sometimes referred to more as entertainment than a sport.
“The new rules in the 50-over format have made the game far more attacking from the runs per over point of view. Secondly more wickets are being taken,” said the former South African wicketkeeper-batsman.
With new ODI rules in place, the 50-over format has seen a sea change from the 1980s and 90s brand of cricket and Richardson, who was sharing the stage with Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, said that the game has become aggressive for the better.
“So all round it has led to more attacking cricket. Yes we do see it is quite difficult for bowlers at some stages of the game specially on flat wickets. But we think that the conditions in Australia will provide a perfect balance between bat and ball. What we do find is that even spin bowlers who might be a little bit petrified at the fielding restrictions sometimes are having a lot of success in the one-day games,” he said.
New Delhi: Asserting that the timing of the crackdown on illegal actions is not a conspiracy, ICC CEO David Richardson lauded Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh for correcting his bowling action after being called twice in his career and making it absolutely legal.
“At one stage his (Harbhajan Singh) action came under a bit of scrutiny. He did a fantastic job in adapting his action to make sure that he was now bowling legally. And now there is no question mark about the way he bowls. I think yes the ICC has cracked down on bowlers that are extending their arm during the delivery and there is no conspiracy about the timing of it,” Richardson said.
New Delhi: Acknowledging the receipt of PCB’s request letter for tainted pacer Muhammad Aamir’s early return to cricket, ICC CEO Dave Richardson today said that the international body has taken note of the issue but the matter will take some time to get resolved. “The PCB has written to us regarding Muhammed Aamir. But there is a process to be followed,” said Richardson. “Interviews need to be conducted with the player involved to establish his state of mind and how he has progressed. And things will be taken from there. So it’s not going to be a short process but one which will require our attention,” Richardson said.
