As many as 56 players approached by bookies last year: Waugh

London: Former Australian captain Steve Waugh has claimed that 56 cricketers have reported being approached by illegal bookmakers in the past one year alone. Even as his proposal to have lie-detector tests to help ICC’s anti-corruption unit met with rejection from the Players’ Union, Waugh said the number is too staggering to just be ignored. [caption id=“attachment_46295” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Former Australian captain Steve Waugh has claimed that 56 cricketers have reported being approached by illegal bookmakers in the past one year alone. Cameron Spencer/Getty Images”]  [/caption] “I was shocked when I heard the numbers,” Waugh was quoted as saying by ‘The Daily Telegraph’. “But it shows the players have got more belief in the ICC and trust them. The bad thing is that there is obviously lots of activity out there.” Waugh, who heads the MCC world cricket committee’s working party, had created a flutter by suggesting lie-detector tests, an idea that was “rejected outright” by Federation of International Cricketers Association CEO Tim May. “Tim’s job is to look after the welfare and interests of the players and I understand and respect that,” said Waugh. “Maybe he is not quite sure what we are trying to get across. We are not suggesting people should be forced to take polygraph tests. It is a voluntary thing. I understand the concern that if you don’t take one you might look guilty but that’s not the intention. You would only use a polygraph in corroboration with other work.” PTI