Alec Stewart, who will captain England in the second Test against Pakistan at Old Trafford next week, is expected to be interviewed again by the International Cricket Council's anti-corruption unit headed by Lord Condon.Stewart has already been seen once following last year's report into match-fixing by the Central Bureau of Investigation in India. The CBI named a number of players, including Stewart, who were alleged to have had dealings with an Indian bookmaker.Disciplinary action has subsequently been taken against several players, with the Indian board banning Mohammad Azharuddin and Ajay Sharma from cricket for life and suspending Manoj Prabhakar and Ajay Jadeja for five years.The Condon report published yesterday said: "The Central Bureau of Investigation felt their central witness, Mr K Gupta, a bookmaker, had not been disproved in respect of any allegations he had made and they did not think he was lying."Stewart, who has denied all allegations of wrongdoing, said yesterday that he would be happy to co-operate with another meeting with Lord Condon's unit "if and when asked".It is believed that Lord Condon wants to interview Gupta before he meets Stewart again. Gupta had told the CBI that Stewart the only English cricketer to feature in the Indian report was one of the players who had been paid for information. Stewart strenuously denies the charge and has the full support of Lord MacLaurin, the chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board."The allegation against Alec was totally unsubstantiated," Lord MacLaurin said. "I do not know of any allegations against any England player The only situation we dealt with was with Alec Stewart. I spoke with him and he denied being involved."He added: "I have said that my board at the ECB will take a strong view if any of our players transgressed. My own view and it might be thought to be strong is that we would have life bans.".
The International Cricket Council will come under pressure next month to name players, officials and administrators referred to in Lord Condon's interim report into corruption within the game. The International Cricket Council will come under pressure next month to name players, officials and administrators referred to in Lord Condon's interim report into corruption within the game. The report, published yesterday, recounts a history of corruption that has already led to the life bans of, among others, South Africa's Hansie Cronje, India's Mohammad Azharuddin and Pakistan's Salim Malik.The report also details how Lord Condon's investigations have unearthed new allegations, though nobody concerned is named. Those who have been pressing the game's authorities to take a hard line on offenders will press the ICC to name names when it meets next month to consider the report.At least five different investigations are continuing as a result of information provided by players and officials who have completed confidential forms detailing their knowledge of corruption. Malpractice involving match-fixing, corrupt involvement with bookmakers, intimidation and possible involvement in drug smuggling are thought to be under scrutiny."We have reasonable grounds for new investigations against a number of individuals.
These allegations are not yet in the public domain," Lord Condon wrote in his report.Lord Condon is expected to identify the new suspects to the ICC, the game's world governing body, at its executive board meeting in London on 18 June. The ICC will then have to decide whether to make the names public. The suspects were not named yesterday for legal reasons and because investigations are ongoing. "As a public document this report must not prejudge or prejudice the outcome of specific enquiries into named individuals," Lord Condon wrote.While yesterday's report does not spell out the nature of the investigations, Lord Condon hints at what kind of offences are being probed. "I have spoken to people who have been threatened and others who have alleged a murder and a kidnapping linked to cricket corruption," he says, without giving details.The scale of the allegations is likely to come as a shock to some ICC members.
