Watson blasts ICC anti corruption unit for its inability to act against match-fixers

Melbourne, Sep 1 : Australian opener Shane Watson has criticized the International Cricket Council’s anti corruption unit over its inability to act against match-fixers, after Pakistani fast bowlers were alleged to have bowled pre-arranged no-balls in the Lord’s Test against England.

The Pakistan team is in the midst of a betting scam, where fast bowlers Amir and Asif are alleged to have bowled pre-arranged no-balls in the Lord’s Test against England.

A tabloid named four Pakistani players and three others of being involved in a spot-fixing racket, and alleged that a Pakistani businessman Mazhar Majeed had paid bribes to the players to bowl no-balls and wides in the series and in the Lords test.

Watson said it was a disgrace that it took an English newspaper to expose the latest betting scam, and feared it was the “tip of the iceberg”.

“The ICC anti-corruption unit is not really working, that''s totally to do with the ICC, so they really need to step in and really get to the bottom of it,” Watson said.

“Maybe they don’t want to get to the bottom of it because it might run too deep. By the look of it, it might be only the tip of the iceberg. They need to get to the bottom of it as soon as possible because we don''t want it to affect the game anymore than it already has,” FOX Sports quoted him, as saying.

ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat denied any laxity from the ACSU, and stressed they lacked law enforcement powers.

“The ACSU''s working is not that of a policing agency or a newspaper. They have no power to arrest or seize, or carry out a sting operation,” Lorgat told Cricinfo.