ICC ramps up anti-fixing efforts for Champions Trophy

London: In the wake of the spot-fixing scandal surrounding the IPL and Bangladesh Premier League, the ICC is doing whatever it can to minimise the risk of corruption during the Champions Trophy, which starts in the United Kingdom tomorrow. Players will have to surrender their mobile phones when they board the team coach to travel to matches and ICC Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) officials will monitor behaviour around the hotels. [caption id=“attachment_845361” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  The ICC is on high alert for the Champions Trophy. Reuters[/caption] Six of the eight teams taking part, including their support staff, have been given an hour long presentation by ACSU officials on how to spot danger signs and raise concerns. New Zealand and England will receive their presentation after today’s match. Cricket around the world continues to be under crisis with former Bangladeshi captain Mohammad Ashraful breaking down in tears as he admitted his involvement in match-fixing during a domestic Twenty20 competition. Bangladesh are not part of the competition. Indian cricket has been embroiled in a fixing scandal for weeks, with the arrest of three players, who were yesterday remanded in custody until June 18, and 11 bookmakers. Several key figures in the BCCI have resigned and a commission has been created to investigate alleged corruption. Meanwhile, the global cricket controversy took another turn as former Australian cricketer Tim May quit as head of the international players’ union after eight years amid allegations of threats and intimidation. May, who was last month controversially ousted from an ICC players’ committee amid claims of pressure from India, said he was tired of battling the governing body. “More and more we see allegations of corruption and malpractice on and off the field dominating headlines,” he said, stepping down as the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) chief. “As stakeholders in the game we look to leadership from the ICC to address these and other issues. A vital ingredient of any organisation is the ability of its leaders to set the moral and principled example to others, and to police its organisation from top to bottom to ensure adherence to those principles. “Yet cricket increasingly seems to be pushing aside the principles of transparency, accountability, independence, and upholding the best interests of the global game, in favour of a system that appears to operate through threats, intimidation and backroom deals,” May said. According to a ‘Daily Telegraph’ report, when the Australian former Test off spinner was replaced as a players’ representative on the ICC cricket committee by India’s Laxman Sivaramakrishnan last month, FICA suggested there had been ballot ‘fixing’. The ICC cricket committee makes recommendations on issues including the umpire Decision Review System (DRS), which May has pushed to be used in all international series. Opposition from BCCI means it is not used in contests involving India. May has previously challenged all national cricket boards on issues ranging from tour scheduling to the Woolf report, which tried to revamp ICC governance but was allegedly rejected by India. PTI