Cricket: Players urged to have faith in committee

Corruption in cricket will not be eradicated until players put their faith in the body aimed at rooting out the culprits, according to Mike Brearley, the chairman of the MCC World Cricket committee.

Former England captain Brearley said that the players must play their part in ridding the sport of controversies that have rocked its standing in recent months, and believes that will start when they put their full confidence in the Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) set up by the International Cricket Council.

He said: “Cricket will never rid itself of corruption until players own the problem, until everyone acts in the right manner if approached, and until they have total confidence in the procedures of the ACSU, including its absolute confidentiality with regard to players who report approaches or suspicions.

“My belief is that 99 per cent of players hate the threat corruption poses to cricket, and we need to utilise their affection for the game to force out the other 1 per cent.”