MELBOURNE, (Reuters) – Any players found guilty of being involved in match-fixing or any other form of illegality related to gambling in cricket should be banned for life, former Australian spinner Shane Warne has said.
A British newspaper made allegations last weekend that Pakistan bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were paid to deliberately bowl no-balls during their fourth test against England at Lord’s, which finished on Sunday.
“If it is true and they have been found (guilty of) match-fixing and throwing games and spot betting with the no-balls and stuff, if that’s the case they should be thrown out,” Warne told reporters in Melbourne yesterday.
“If it’s fixed by players, they should be banned for life. Anyone who’s involved should be thrown out.
“The ICC have to flex their muscles and just go after Pakistan.” Warne, who was fined for admitting he had taken money from an Indian bookmaker for providing pitch and weather information in 1994, said he had been shocked by the latest allegations, especially since the International Cricket Council had instituted an anti-corruption unit.
“I thought that the game was clean now with the anti-corruption people there,” Warne added.
“(But) if you look back over the incidents they’ve had in the past, you’d have to say no, they haven’t really flexed their muscles. So you’d hope that at this stage they can flex their muscles and show that they do run the game.”