England Cricket Team ‘emphatically deny’ spot-fixing claims made in Al Jazeera documentary

Allegations | Documentary claims three unnamed England players had been involved in fixing 2016 Chennai Test with India
Dan Mullan/Getty Images
Will Macpherson27 May 2018

Joe Root has described claims made in a documentary that three England players conspired to spot-fix the Test against India in Chennai in 2016 as “ridiculous”, while the ECB issued a statement to “emphatically deny the allegations”.

As Root’s team went down by nine wickets to Pakistan at Lord’s, continuing their dismal run of Test form, Al Jazeera’s investigation went public and alleged that three unnamed England players had been involved in fixing the Chennai Test. Al Jazeera’s undercover documentary shows fixers boasting about corrupt players and how they would score a set number of runs in a period of play.

The three players were contacted by Al Jazeera and “categorically denied” the network’s claims, which were “made by a source who is a known criminal. The players said: “For the batting team to fix scores to within such degree of precision as alleged is highly improbable if not practically impossible.”

Six of the 11 who lost to Pakistan , including Root, were involved in that match but the captain seemed baffled by the allegations.

“I’ve been made aware that there’s a documentary going out,” Root said. “All the players have been briefed by the ECB and been told that there is absolutely nothing to worry about.

“I’ve been told to strongly deny the allegations because it sounds quite ridiculous really. As a group of players we’ve got to focus on this week and prepare well, and let the people in charge deal with this, because I’m sure it’s nothing.

“The ECB have seen the documentary, and it’s for the ICC to sort out. They’re the people in charge and if there’s anything to it, they will look into it. I’ve been told there’s nothing to worry about.

The England coach Trevor Bayliss described the content of the documentary as “outrageous” while Tom Harrison, the ECB’s CEO, was similarly strong.

“There is nothing we have seen that would make us doubt any of our players in any way whatsoever,” said Harrison in the ECB’s statement. “The limited information we have been given has been discussed with all the England players. They emphatically deny the allegations, have stated categorically that the claims are false and they have our full support.

“Neither ECB nor the ICC is aware of any credible evidence connecting any England players to any form of corruption. ECB had been aware of the planned Al Jazeera documentary for some time but have not been given the full content. There have been repeated requests for any evidence and unedited materials to be shared with the ICC so they can fully investigate.

“We, like other member Boards, are disappointed that Al Jazeera have not been more cooperative and responsible when making such serious allegations. ECB has a regular dialogue with the ICC and its anti-corruption unit, fully supports its work and will continue to cooperate with their review.”

Cricket Australia also moved to comment after the documentary brought the credibility of their Test match against India in Ranchi last March. Two Australian players were contacted by Al Jazeera but declined to comment on the match.

“Neither the ICC or Cricket Australia is aware of any credible evidence linking Australian players to corruption in the game,” said James Sutherland, CA’s CEO. “Cricket Australia and the ICC take a zero-tolerance approach against anyone trying to compromise the integrity of the game. We urge Al Jazeera to provide all un-edited materials and any other evidence to the ICC investigation team, so, if appropriate, a full and thorough investigation can be conducted.”

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