ECB rejects spot-fixing claims on England players in the latest Al Jazeera documentary 

The infamous broadcasting platform has claimed spot-fixing allegations on some England players.

The India versus England 2011 Lord's Test has been highlighted by Al Jazeera | Getty

Responding to spot-fixing claims on "small group" of England players in the latest scam revealing documentary released by broadcaster Al Jazeera, England and Wales Cricket Board(ECB) has rejected and dismissed the yet unproven allegations altogether. 

Earlier, Al Jazeera followed another documentary with the previous ones, where a bookie was seen claiming that a session and two of the Ranchi Test 2017 were spot-fixed by a few Australian players, and informed that it has "uncovered evidence of corruption at the highest levels of international cricket," by a few three lions' cricketers. 

Clearing their immediate stance on the matter, ECB has said, "Whilst the limited information we have been given by Al Jazeera is poorly prepared and lacks clarity and corroboration, it has been properly assessed," 

"Analysis of this by the ECB Integrity Team has cast no doubt on the integrity or behaviour of any England player, current or former," the official statement added. 

Having obtained "purported recordings" of a match-fixer calling in the fixes to an illegal Indian bookmaker linked with the organised crime, Al Jazeera has claimed that the corruption "appears to involve two dozen fixes in 15 international matches" from the period dating 2011-12. 

The platform also pointed that it has evidence against a small group of England players allegedly carrying out spot-fixes in seven matches, Australia players in five matches and Pakistan players in three. 

It has also been claimed that these games include England versus India at Lord's, South Africa versus Australia in Cape Town and many of England's UAE matches against Pakistan. 

"The ECB takes its responsibilities on anti-corruption and preserving the integrity of cricket very seriously," the board further noted, "The materials we have been given have been referred to the ICC's Anti-Corruption unit and we will continue to work with them, as is the correct procedure for protecting the game."

The International Cricket Council(ICC) too, gave it's opinion on the development and said that the game's world governing body is "committed to working to uphold integrity in cricket", before adding, "As you would expect we will again take the contents of the programme and any allegations it may make seriously and will investigate fully."

"The investigation into these allegations has already commenced and will run alongside a number of other live unrelated investigations. When considering the claims, we will work with professional independent betting analysts."

"We do welcome the commitment from the broadcaster to share the files with Interpol and, I hope, other law enforcement agencies who can act upon the information and support us in ridding the sport of these criminals," the ICC stated. 

(Inputs from BBC)

 
 

By Kashish Chadha - 22 Oct, 2018

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