Cricket criminals have a lot to fear, warns Condon
Corrupt international cricketers were warned on Friday they have much to fear as investigators arrived back in England from a fact-finding mission to India.
Sir Paul Condon, head of the International Cricket Council's anti-corruption team, claims he has a wealth of new information about alleged wrong-doings in the game following meetings with Indian police, politicians and officials.
The former head of the London police force said every player named in the 162-page Central Bureau of Investigation report two months ago will be interviewed in due course.
Condon refused to say if the material corroborated claims by Mukesh Kumar Gupta, the India bookmaker, that senior players including Alec Stewart and Brian Lara took money in exchange for information.
He would not be drawn either on whether English cricketers could be forced to take lie-detector tests as recommended in a new report by the King Commission which conducted the inquiry into the Hansie Cronje affair.
But Condon did say: "Cricketers who have been named and are innocent have absolutely nothing to fear from the investigations.
"However, anyone who has been named and has done some thing that approximates to criminality has a lot to fear."
He added "We are determined to leave no stone unturned in investigating these allegations, but equally players should not be condemned without evidence being available.
"There is new evidence available to support our investigations, and the immediate task is to make an assessment of its content."
Mail Cricket Editor
