DUBAI, (Reuters) – An Australia cricket player has been approached by a bookmaker during the Ashes tour of England, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said yesterday.
“There is no evidence of any illegal activity as a result of this approach, which took place following the second test at Lord’s in July,” the ICC said in a statement.
“Approaches to players do happen and it would be naive to assume otherwise; if they did not then there would be no need for the continuing existence of the ACSU (Anti-Corruption and Security Unit),” the sport’s governing body added.
“There is no indication that any matches in the current Ashes series or the ICC World Twenty20 2009 (in England in June) have been affected by corruption in any way and the ICC is confident the issue is under control.
“The ICC would like to place on record its praise for the player approached and the Australia team management for reporting the issue.”
The final test of the closely-contested Ashes begins at the Oval today with the series level at one-all.
Cricket Australia declined to comment on the player approach when contacted by Reuters.
“Any anti-corruption issue in cricket is a matter for the ICC,” Cricket Australia spokesman Philip Pope said.
Australian media reported a player was approached in the bar of the team’s London hotel.