ICC to interview England players in spot-fixing probe

The unnamed England and Australia cricketers alleged to have been involved in spot-fixing by al-Jazeera’s undercover investigation into corruption are set to be interviewed when the International Cricket Council’s own probe gets underway.

ICC officials are due to meet with the Qatar-based broadcaster this week following a request for all unedited materials sourced during the making of Cricket’s Match Fixers, the documentary that was aired on Sunday, to be shared with them.

Among the claims aired was the allegation that three England players batted to order during the fifth Test against India in Chennai, December 2016, having agreed to score below a set number of runs during a 10-over passage of play as part of a betting scam.

The England and Wales Cricket Board has issued a strong denial of any wrongdoing by its players, stating there is “no credible evidence”, as did Cricket Australia following a similar allegation made about two of their batsmen when they played the third Test against India in Ranchi last year.

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While all five player’s names were redacted in the final edit, along with specific match details that would assist in identifying them, the ICC will seek to get this information from the upcoming meeting with al-Jazeera and then look to speak to those allegedly involved.

Speaking before his side's departure for a limited-overs tour of England in June, the Australia captain, Tim Paine, said: "At this stage it's unsubstantiated claims. We're confident that none of our guys are involved in it. As far as I'm concerned our players have got nothing to worry about. I'm really confident none of our players are involved."

The allegation of English involvement comes at an already troubling time for the Test team given the disappointing nine-wicket defeat to Pakistan at Lord’s on Sunday that has seen them now go eight matches without a win.

Trevor Bayliss, the England head coach, has however insisted the allegations were not responsible for their poor showing. He said: "There was no chat about it in the change-room. It would be wrong to blame that for the way we played. When we were told about it, the thought on it was that it was rubbish." – Guardian service