MELBOURNE, (Reuters) – Cricket Australia has set up a dedicated unit to fight doping, match-fixing and other activities that might undermine the integrity of its competitions, the governing body said on Friday.
CA’s senior legal counsel Iain Roy would head the unit, CA said on its website (www.cricket.com.au).
“We think this is a responsible approach to protecting the game under our jurisdiction. We need to ensure the Australian public has full faith in the integrity of the game and the way it is administered,” CA chief executive James Sutherland said.
The consolidation of CA’s integrity functions into a single unit was recommended by an independent review earlier this year.
CA’s announcement comes in the wake of investigations into former New Zealand players for alleged match-fixing.
Former New Zealand batsman Lou Vincent confirmed earlier this month that he was one of three players being probed by the International Cricket Council.
Australia and New Zealand are hosting the 2015 World Cup, which is expected to generate huge global betting interest, raising fears that players might be targeted by rogue bookmakers with the promise of big pay-offs for cheating.
