Joe Root has denied the spot fixing allegations. (Source: Reuters)
The three England players alleged to have indulged in spot fixing by the Al Jazeera sting operation will be interviewed by anti-corruption detectives.
The 2016 India-England Test in Chennai is claimed to have been compromised. Though the England & Wales Cricket Board termed the allegations “categorically false,” the three cricketers, whose names were beeped out in the documentary, will be questioned in this regard, Daily Telegraph reported.
England skipper Joe Root, who was part of that game, dismissed the allegation as “ridiculous” and said he had been told by his bosses to “strongly deny these allegations”.
England coach Trevor Bayliss called the charges “outrageous”.
The Doha-based news channel alleged that England cricketers indulged in spot-fixing at the behest of criminal gangs during the Test, but Root said there was no truth to the charges. “We have been made aware that there is a documentary going out, and all the players have been briefed by the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) and been told that there is absolutely nothing to worry about. I have been told to strongly deny these allegations. It sounds quite ridiculous really.
He left it to the ICC to deal with the latest threat to the game’s integrity.
“It’s for the ICC to sort out – they’re the people in charge – and if there’s anything to it, they’ll look into it,” Root added.
Paine confident no more pain
He was not part of the match, but it did not prevent Australia skipper Tim Paine from debunking the allegation that two Australian players indulged in spot-fixing during the Ranchi Test against India last year.
Al Jazeera alleged that sessions of the aforementioned Test, played in March 2017, were compromised with the number of runs scored being pre-decided by operatives of the D-company.
Paine was not a member of the team, led by Steve Smith with Matthew Wade as the wicketkeeper, but nevertheless downplayed the charges, exuding confidence that no Australian players were involved in any wrongdoing.
“As far as I’m aware at the moment, the claims are unsubstantiated, and as far as I’m concerned, our players have got nothing to worry about,” Paine said in Brisbane before the limited-overs squad left for a tour of England. “I’ve never seen anything like it, to be honest, and I can’t speak on behalf of all of our guys, but I certainly know it’s never been spoken about in Australian dressing rooms that I’ve been involved in.”
Australian cricket is reeling after a ball-tampering row on the tour to South Africa – which resulted in long-term suspensions handed to Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft – and if their Test players are also found to have indulged in fixing, it would be another big blow to the fabled Baggy Green. But Paine said the team was not too concerned about the fallout of the sting operation on what is expected to be a tough tour.
“I’m really confident none of our players are involved and this group is really focused on going to England and putting up a really good performance over there,” the wicketkeeper said. “At this stage, it’s unsubstantiated claims and we’re confident that none of our guys are involved in it.”
Charges ‘difficult to believe’
There are also question marks on two pitches prepared in Galle, Sri Lanka, with the documentary alleging that the surfaces for the Test against Australia (2016) and India (2017) were manipulated at the behest of criminal gangs. But a Sri Lanka Cricket official said that although two people allegedly involved in the pitch-fixing have been suspended, it was difficult to believe the allegations. The documentary showed a groundsman agreeing to doctor pitches for Test matches and even describing how he could do it even after the match has started.
In the Galle Test, Australia were bowled out for 106 and 183 and lost by 229 runs in less than three days.
“In that video, they only say that the Galle match ended in two-and-a-half days. Players never complained. Nothing was mentioned in the captains’ reports. No complaints from umpires and match referee as well,” Mohan de Silva, the vice president of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), told reporters in Colombo on Monday. “So it is difficult for us to believe something wrong has happened. That is what the ICC is investigating.”
The SLC has appointed a committee to look into the matter, to assess if there was a failure in protocols and to take measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.