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ICC sets up panel to probe corruption

Paran Balakrishnan in London

The International Cricket Council is setting up an independent commission to probe allegations of malpractice and match-fixing.

The new body, called the Corruption Investigating Authority, will be constituted in the next two months. An experienced person with a legal background will head the panel, the ICC announced today.

The ICC, which ended its two-day emergency meeting in London, also announced that players found guilty of corruption of any sort would face life bans.

"There is no place for corruption. The game's image will not be allowed to suffer," ICC President Jagmohan Dalmiya said after the two-day meeting.

Dalmiya emphasised that the ICC will take a tough stand on any case that comes before it.

"There will be a stringent penalty which may go up to life bans if anyone is found guilty of misbehaviour," he said.

The ICC will also take tough measures to ensure that all its members fall in line with the new proposals. It has threatened to suspend countries that do not comply with the new anti-corruption regulations.

The anti-corruption agency will report directly to Lord Griffiths who heads the ICC's conduct commission.

The two-day meeting appears to have dropped proposals for an amnesty to all players who confessed to misconduct.

ICC Chief Executive David Richards had told Sky News that the council was considering measures like an amnesty for those who reveal wrongdoing. However, a number of ICC delegates reportedly opposed this suggestion.

The two-day emergency ICC meeting was convened after the Hansie Cronje scandal and allegations of rampant match-fixing broke out.

In a radio interview yesterday, Britain's Lord MacLaurin admitted that corruption appeared to widespread.

"I have a nasty feeling that it might be," MacLaurin replied. "If it is, and we are ferreting it all out, so be it. The game of cricket is a very great game and it cannot be tainted... in the ways that have been alleged in recent times," he had said.

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ICC threatens life ban for match-fixers