"We are aware of a number of approaches that were made to key players during the tournament, and they were reported to the Anti Corruption and Security Unit. We were provided with very helpful information," said the source, who added that none of the ICC Twenty20 matches had been fixed.writes Scyld Berry.
"We didn't cover it [the second IPL] but, in terms of intelligence, the volume of rumours and noises raised concerns about its integrity. One of the most significant rumours was that a bookmaker seemed to have a surprising access to the players," the source said. "The second IPL should have been covered properly, and cricket has paid a price. It was a wake-up call that the game has taken too long to respond to."So lets understand this
- The ICC deems the IPL a domestic event and therefore cannot be granted a window, so what is the jurisdiction of any of the ICC affiliated bodies over a "domestic event" ?
I recruit an organization to implement a certain project. They provide consultants for the job, requiring me to hire a whole new set of people to implement the project. So far so good.So much for cricket paying the price. Anywho, the point of of creating the ACSU, per the ICC website is
Then those consultants, and the people hired for the implementation, are a bit too over zealous with their tasks. ( Shahrukh not allowed in the KKR dug out!)Again, so far so good.
Then the head of the consulting firm bad mouths the project after the implementation despite me ceding control to his organization to oversee the said project.
Then, when I have to implement the same project all over again this year, the consulting firm quotes an exorbitant price for its services.
ANTI-CORRUPTION
- To assist the ICC Code of Conduct Commission ('the Commission') and the Members of ICC in the eradication of conduct of a corrupt nature prejudicial to the interests of the game of cricket; and to provide a professional, permanent and secure infrastructure to act as a long term deterrent to conduct of a corrupt nature prejudicial to the interests of the game of cricket.
- To evaluate safety and security assessments and intelligence in order to provide advice to the ICC Chief Executive and/or the Executive Board of the ICC ('the Executive Board') in relation to: (a) any event or competition organised by the ICC; and (b) the provision of match officials for FTP commitments
And given that the IPL is deemed a "domestic event" by the ICC, what is the locus standi of the ACSU given that its brief is "To evaluate safety and security assessments and intelligence in order to provide advice to the ICC Chief Executive and/or the Executive Board of the ICC ('the Executive Board') in relation to: (a) any event or competition organised by the ICC; and (b) the provision of match officials for FTP commitments "?
Isn't the "senior source at the International Cricket Council." protesting too much?And what is the ICC doing about such unsolicited leaks?
And what about the ACSU itself - other than being another level of bureaucracy in an already over crowded bureaucracy that is the ICC, how effective is it exactly ( other than arriving at the scene of the supposed crime after the fact, in true police fashion)?
PS:- "In keeping with ACSU protocols, no specifics will be discussed in relation to the investigation and no further comment will be made." - which begs the question - What action is the ICC going to take against the "senior source at the International Cricket Council."?
8 comments:
I have no trust whatsoever in these source-based stories. You have an agenda but don't have the guts, that's why most reporters resort to such things. I said most.
Like WADA, ACSU guys are supposed to stick to the basic tenet of their job i.e. confidentiality. Singing like a canary to a Scyld Berry doesn't invoke respect.
ACSU didn't cover IPL 2 because Lalit Modi wasn't ready to cough up the USD 1.2 million which ICC had demanded as its fee.
"A particular bookie had access to the players...." If Berry/his source is hinting at Banjo Cassim, he didn't have access to players, hen was merely sitting at the hospitality area and it's a sponsor's prerogative whom they want to invite their. (BTW, Banjo's daughter separated me and Banjo in the box).
ACSU was supposed to look after Pak-Lanka Test series and still you hear that Indian bookies approaches Pak players.
Berry's is a rather vague story that smacks of vested interest.
Som,
Isnt it funny that most, if not all, leaks from the ICC inevitably make way to British and Australian journalists? And to think the ICC is based in Dubai :).
But the question still remains - how is it that players were approached during the T0 WC despite the ACSU being around for 9 years - how much of a deterrent is the ACSU and how much an old boys club?
Cheers,
Homer, come on. You can't quote one of the principal roles of the unit to question the involvement of the ACSU in something which is clearly covered by the other role (to "assist... the members of ICC.."). We're not talking about them offering the IPL a safety assessment, are we?
I don't think it helps to play along with whatever nation v nation v ICC undercurrents are going on here. Instead, stick to your (very good) question: Why isn't the ACSU effectively both providing reasonably priced services to ICC members and in more general terms preventing corruption as it is charged with doing?
(On a sidetrack, does anyone know exactly how "evaluat[ing] safety and security assessments and intelligence" helps with "the provision of match officials for FTP commitments"?)
Som, I'd be surprised if it were ACSU people leaking this - it sounds like it comes from someone more central in the ICC who has been privy to ACSU reports. The different parts of the ICC have different flaws...
Homer, the leaks go to whoever will give the most sympathetic hearing. It depends on the issue not always the British or Australians (although surely having a name like "Scyld" earns brownie points? ;-) Of course, there is also a particular ICC member which uses un-named sources as routinely as politicians planning a leadership spill...
Jonathan,
Second point firs - Given that the ACSU had "intelligence" and "there were rumours and noises" emanating from theIPL, and given that there was a World Cup being played, one would have expected greater vigilance. Yet, players were approached. Which tells us what the ACSU is about.
As regards the nation versus nation argument, it is simple really. The ECB has been organizing a T20 tourney well before the IPL was conceived. And it was targeted towards getting new audiences to the game and as a revenue stream for the counties. And yet, in the 6-7 years that the T20 game has been in existence, there is nary a peep from the ACSU.
And, like the IPL, the English T0 competition attracts players from the world over.So whatever happened to the assistance promised?
The ACSU covered the first version of he IPL, there was nothing adverse found and yet the IPL is the target of ACSU oppobrium.
Which then begs the question - whose agenda is the ACSU following?
Cheers,
Jonatahan,
Point is,what has the ICC done or is doing to prevent the leaking? And if there are leaks, what is the ICC doing in order to make itself more transparent to dispel the innuendo that comes with these leaks?
What the leaks do is deepen the already existing rift between member nations with the ICC offering no remedial action.. More reason why India needs to pull out :)
Cheers,
Homer,
If they had received intelligence about corruption in the English T20, then I would expect the ACSU to do something about it, domestic or not. Do we know that anything about how it is covered? The fact is that the IPL is a much bigger target for players, bookies, the media and people with agendas and open mouths.
My point was simply that the question isn't whether the ACSU should have anything to say, it's whether they are saying and doing anythign helpful. If "covering" the IPL (beyond what the BCCI presumably did do) is essential/beneficial for cricket as a whole, then why aren't they going out of their way to obtain co-operation, rather than sitting around waiting for fees. (It certainly appears to me that the agenda is a slice of the pie.) Neither they nor ICC sources can reasonably claim that the ACSU needs to be involved, but then offer services like a contractor. If funding is an issue, then work it out separately, even if the sources are basically the same.
As for the ICC in general, as much as it sets up various departments which act as or indepent arbirters, it is worth remembering that it is fundamentally nothing more than a group of fighting and compromising members. It cannot be thought of as outside the rifts you mention. Transparency or other solutions can only be brought about by the warring parties themselves.
To further your point about the ACSU's sloth Jonathan, Javed Miandad, the then Director General of Cricket in Pakistan said that there existed a "serious possibility of matches being fixed in the cash-rich Twenty20 event."
So much for "To assist the ICC Code of Conduct Commission ('the Commission') and the Members of ICC in the eradication of conduct of a corrupt nature prejudicial to the interests of the game of cricket;"
Cheers :),
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