England Cricket Board offers 3-month amnesty to reveal spot- fixing incidents

London, Jan 13 : The England Cricket Board has offered players a three-month amnesty to disclose spot-fixing incidents without the fear of prosecution.

“Information is critical in addressing the threat posed by corruption in sport. The decision of the board to provide a window for retrospective reporting of alleged approaches will greatly assist in compiling a more complete picture of the source and focus of approaches which may have taken place in the past, ” The Mirror quoted an ECB Anti-Corruption Commission for Education member, Chris Watts, as saying.

The statement comes after former Essex pace bowler Mervyn Westfield, 23, admitted to receiving 6,000 pounds from bookies to bowl badly in a 2009 match.

Former England and Essex skipper Nasser Hussain said the ECB must impose a heavy penalty on Westfield to root out corruption in the game.

“It shows it’s not just one country, one team, but that there are other people involved and it is something we have to keep monitoring,” he said.

“I hope the ECB are firm with him because if you are going to be firm with Pakistan cricketers, you’ve got to be firm throughout. It doesn’t matter if it was a Test match at Lord’s or a one-day game at Durham, there is right and there is wrong,” he added.

Westfield’s  spot –fixing confession came as a huge surprise to his acquaintances.

“I was shocked when I heard what had happened. I thought Mervyn was a talented cricketer who still had the potential to go on to big things,” a former English cricketer Tudor said.

“What has happened to him should serve as a warning to all young county cricketers.I don’t think this is endemic. Although Mervyn has ruined his chance, hopefully others won’t,” he added.