28 August 2018

Statement on Al Jazeera

Cricket Australia confirms it has been notified by Al Jazeera of plans to produce a follow-up documentary on alleged corruption in the global game involving spot-fixing claims against current and former Australian players relating to historical matches from 2011. Cricket Australia CEO, James Sutherland said:

“We are aware of the new investigative documentary by Al Jazeera into alleged corruption in cricket. Since the broadcast of Al Jazeera’s first documentary, the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit has been conducting a thorough investigation into the claims made, however this has been hampered by a lack of cooperation from Al Jazeera.

“Although not having been provided an opportunity to review any raw audio or footage, our long-standing position on these matters is that credible claims should be treated very seriously, and investigated. Cricket Australia’s Integrity Unit have conducted a review of the latest claims by Al Jazeera, from a known criminal source, and, from the limited information provided by Al Jazeera, our team have not identified any issues of corruption relating to current or former Australian players.

“We have handed all material over to the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit to enable them to fully investigate and we will continue to cooperate with the ICC. It is important to reiterate that 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 Anti-Corruption Unit. 

“Australian cricket is proactive with its sports integrity management and Cricket Australia’s Integrity Unit oversees and maintains all domestic cricket in Australia, including BBL and WBBL matches. In addition to this, prior to the start of each Australian season, all professional cricketers are required to participate in thorough anti-corruption education sessions before being eligible to compete in CA’s domestic competitions,” concluded Mr Sutherland.

Australian Cricketers’ Association Chief Executive Alistair Nicholson said: “The players have zero tolerance for any behaviour that may impact upon the integrity of the game. However, enough is enough when it comes to people making unsupported accusations that have the ability to unfairly tarnish players’ reputations. Whoever is making these allegations should provide all the information they purport to have to the ICC to allow them to assess it.”

Anyone with information is urged to contact the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit: [email protected].

• This media release was published by Cricket Australia on 28 August 2018. Click here for the original.

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