Stewart to meet Condon over match-fixing claims

Acting England captain Alec Stewart is to organise a meeting with International Cricket Council anti-corruption investigators early next week.

The announcement came after a warning on Sunday from England and Wales Cricket Board chief Lord MacLaurin that he is determined to suspend any player who refuses to co-operate with inquiries into match-fixing.

Stewart has been accused by the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) of failing to agree to a date for an interview over allegations he took money from a bookmaker.

But Stewart's solicitor Gerrard Tyrrell responded on Sunday by saying in a statement the player would meet Condon after the current one-day series involving England, Australia and Pakistan. The tournament final takes place on June 23.

Tyrrell said an exact date would be fixed on Monday, adding: "Since the outset of this matter, Alec Stewart has made it totally clear that he will fully co-operate with any inquiry into the allegations that have been made against him.

Earlier Lord MacLaurin told BBC Radio: "We've said all along that if any player refuses to co-operate, they will be suspended until they do."

ACU FRUSTRATION

A statement from the ACU expressed frustration that no date had yet been set by Stewart or his lawyers for an interview.

"Negotiations for the interview have been conducted primarily through Mr Stewart's lawyer and the ACU is becoming increasingly frustrated by the inability of Mr Stewart and his advisors to agree to a convenient date," ICC spokesman Mark Harrison said.

"However the ACU remains determined to meet Mr Stewart in the future."

Stewart was captaining England on Sunday against Pakistan in their triangular series one-day match in the absence of the injured Nasser Hussain.

BOOKMAKER'S CLAIM

Last November, Indian bookmaker Mukesh Gupta said he had paid Stewart 5,000 pounds ($7,030) for information during England's 1993 tour of India.

Stewart has denied all allegations of accepting money, although he has said that he might have met Gupta socially.

The England wicketkeeper-batsman met Paul Condon, a former London police chief appointed to lead the inquiry, in January when he told him that he would co-operate with the investigations.

Tyrrell added that Condon sent Stewart a copy of a document detailing Gupta's allegations but added: "It does, however, add nothing more to the allegations made against Alec which have already been published.

"As we understand the position, this remains the only so-called evidence that exists afte months of inquiries."

The ICC meet in London on Monday and Tuesday to consider Condon's first report into the match-fixing scandal which has tarnished the sport since former South Africa captain Hansie Cronje admitted last year to taking money from a bookmaker.

Cronje was subsequently banned for life along with two other former international captains Salim Malik (Pakistan) and Mohammad Azharuddin (India).

In his report Condon called for the ICC to become "more open, transparent and accountable".

"The ICC will be in a stronger position if it continues to evolve from its origins as a loose and fragile alliance into a modern regulatory body whose role is clarified and whose transactions are more transparent and accountable," Condon said.

SCATHING

A five-man ICC inquiry panel, which fully endorsed Condon's report, was more scathing.

"It has become apparent that the present structure of the ICC is inadequate to run international cricket and to manage the vast sums of money it now receives from television rights and other sources," a panel statement said.

The ICC will hold a news conference on Monday to answer questions about the Condon report before moving on to consider changes to its rules for umpires and referees.

The world governing body will consider a proposal to appoint an elite panel of eight full-time contracted umpires who would officiate in the majority of test matches.

Another group of 20 umpires, two from each test country, would form an international panel who would gain experience by standing in other countries' domestic competitions.

A similar proposal would provide for a panel of up to five full-time ICC match referees.

The two recommendations are aimed at raising the standard of umpiring, which has come under increasingly critical scrutiny in television replays.

Mail Cricket Editor