ICC reveals how it guns for match-fixers

The International Cricket Council's (ICC) anti-corruption chief Sir Ronnie Flanagan has assured fans that players are giving their best for the money they (fans) pay to see them play as the Anti Corruption Union (ACU) revealed what kind of leads they follow and how they go after cheats involved in fixing matches.

Flanagan spoke to icc-cricket.com website following the conclusion of a workshop where fighting corruption and meeting future challenges facing the sport was discussed.

"I would like to assure the watching fans, as well, that we in anti-corruption in cricket are doing everything that's humanly possible to eradicate the possibility of corruption from the game.

So, I think that they can watch with confidence that the players are giving of their best and are determined to give of their best. I think I can assure the watching world that international cricketers want no more than to be engaged in a game that's a fair game and a fair test of their skill against the opposition", Flanagan said.

"If any player falls short from that, the situation is such that we will be there, we will identify it and we will deal with it. So the fans, I think, can have that very strong level of reassurance that indeed the game of cricket is clean".

He said that anyone with evidence or information on match-fixing was free to convey it to the ICC and confidentiality assured.

"Every piece of information we get goes into our database as compared with what we already have in that database, and even if at that time it doesn't help further any investigation, who knows in the future what other pieces may be added to that particular piece of information.

"So, I certainly want to keep encouraging people to provide us with all the information that they can, and I would want to take this opportunity to assure them that we do not ignore any piece of information", said Flanagan.

Asked what guarantee was there that the ICC has all the machinery and resources to fight corruption in keeping with present day demands Flanagan said: "I think it's very important, and it's a matter of public record that we secure the services of Sportradar, and they do a very good job for us monitoring all games which we have responsibility for. Sometimes, if we have reason to believe that something might be being planned, we call them in a proactive way and ask them to pay particular emphasis to a given game, so we use Sportradar.

"As to our colleagues in Cricket Australia and indeed the ECB, we work very closely with them to make sure that together we get the very best product that Sportradar can provide us, and it's very valuable. It's very important for us to keep good relationships with the legitimate betting world.

We have Memoranda of Understanding with them, so that any suspicious spike in betting is immediately spotted by them and reported back to us".

To a question on whether the ICC can stop a match from progressing if there is suspicion or evidence that fixing has taken plac, Flanagan said the players stand warned and made aware that they are under close watch.

"It can be the case that we have some intelligence to suggest that something may be amiss, and we go through a whole range of decision-making processes in such an event.

"In some instances it may be that we call both teams together to say, look, we don't suspect you, but we have received some information that something may be amiss in this game. We want you being aware of that, to be doubly conscious of any attempts to approach you to ask you to do anything, or with hindsight having been given this message, if there were previous approaches that you didn't think suspicious but now might be in the light of what we are saying to you, come to us", said Flanagan.

He defended the ICC and the ACU over charges that match-fixing players are able to outsmart the system and have the last laugh.

"I think in terms of the partnerships we have with law enforcement agencies, with the legitimate betting industry, the backup we have from our legal department, the support we get from the board and from the boards of individual member countries of the ICC", Flanagan claimed.

He said that "organized criminal gangs" were the main culprits that have taken matters into their hands "These are members of organised criminal gangs across the world, and that was brought home very evidently in our preparations for the World Cup. When the Australian federal police, because these are organised criminals, were very willing to engage in information sharing Memoranda of Understanding with us, as were New Zealand police, as were the individual state police organisations throughout Australia, and we have similar MOUs about to be signed with the National Crime Agency in the UK, with investigative authorities in India and South Africa, and the fact that we work in close collaboration with those investigative authorities is evident that they indeed recognise that these corruptors are members of organised criminal gangs right across the world and must be attacked globally in that joint effort and through those joint partnerships that I've described", said Flanagan.