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Ban match fixers for life, says ACB chief

Australian Cricket Board chairman Dennis Rogers on Thursday called for players found guilty of match-fixing to be banned for life.

Rogers will attend an emergency two-day meeting of the International Cricket Council executive at Lord's next week to formulate tactics to battle the bribery scandal that was exposed when South Africa captain Hansie Cronje was charged with taking money from Indian bookmakers.

"My own view, and it's a personal view I will take to London with me, is that if match-fixing has been proven and if a player is proven beyond doubt to be guilty of match-fixing, then it's only sensible that the cricket public and administrators should respond and say it's life, you don't play again for life," Rogers said.

"There's no second chances on this. If there is anyone who is responsible, who is a player, then they have no right to play," he said.

Rogers, an ICC executive board member, said it is unrealistic to expect a cure for match-fixing to emerge after just two days.

"The game belongs to the people and we therefore owe it to the people to get to the bottom of it," Rogers said.

He said that meant developing a status report and then moving forward to "rid ourselves of this wretched curse".

"I'm not sure we can get to the bottom of it," Rogers said.

"What we can do is put a process in place that tries to bring that about as a matter of urgency."

He said reducing the number of one-day cricket internationals would have no effect in stamping out match-fixing.

"If the people want to see those games, let them see them," Rogers said.

"But they've got to be games the public can trust, that's the point.

"The most important thing is to clean this wretched curse up and let's get back to what we know has been a great game that has stood the test of time.

"Some mischievous people have been trying to bring it undone and we've got to clear the game of that mischief as quickly as we can and restore people's confidence."