On the front foot against corruption.

• Author: Naidoo, Urvasi

Introduction

In 2001 cricket was in crisis with corruption threatening to tear the fabric of the game apart. Research into the problem revealed that corruption involving match fixing linked to betting on international matches had been in existence for over 20 years. This corruption was permeating all aspects of the game and the international governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC) was ill-equipped to deal with the magnitude of the problem. Although gambling is legally prohibited in countries such as Malaysia, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka (1) an estimated $150 Million is bet on the unlawful market on an average One Day International (ODI) match anywhere in the world. (2) The sheer scale of the problem had been suppressed for years with each country's domestic cricket board dealing with it in their own way and often concealing events. There was no international structure in place to handle the corruption, no formal penalties to be applied and certainly no culture of integrity. The game was wide open to the corrupters.

The truth is that all sports are vulnerable to corruption. Around the world, horse racing, tennis and football have all recently made the headlines because of corruption scandals. In football, 26 year old German football referee, Robert Hoyzer was sentenced in 2005 to two years and five months in prison for his role in match fixing and banned for life by the German Football Association. (3) In 2006, the Italian football authorities punished a number of Serie A clubs for collusion and match fixing. In March 2007 an Australian horse racing jockey was jailed in Hong Kong for 30 months for fixing races. (4)

This article looks at how the ICC tackled this ethical challenge and evaluates the various internal measures it took to address the problem of corrupt practices. In particular the ICC established a Commission to oversee and conduct enquiries and secondly it established a dedicated and largely independent anti-corruption unit. An evaluation will be made of how effective the ICC has been in engaging with corruption in international cricket and what other methods of legal and non-legal regulation operate in this area. Suggestions will be made as to what further reforms need to be made in this regard. What is clear is that governing bodies must put in place good governance structures and processes and personnel to manage them and this article will evaluate the debate around the need for improved sports governance. Lastly, the authors' interview with Jeff Rees the head of the ICC's Anti Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) is appended. This provides some insight into the operation of the ACSU, evaluates whether international cricket matches are still being fixed, what the ICC is doing now and how he sees the next few years unfolding.

Background

Cricket is no stranger to gambling. In the early part of the eighteenth century the game owed a great deal of its popularity to the gambling opportunities that it offered. His Royal Highness Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales' passion for gambling regularly drew him to cricket matches. (5) Mason in "Sport in Britain" writes:

"in the early 19th century the relatively small number of professionals could exert a disproportionate influence on some cricket matches and they were occasionally bribed or removed from the game by false reports of sickness in the family. One professional was banned from Lord's in 1817 for allegedly selling the match between England and Nottingham. The gradual assumption of authority by MCC and the county cricket clubs, the improvement of the material rewards of the average professional cricketer and the increasing opportunities to bet on other sports--notably horse racing and after 1926, greyhound racing- probably killed off gambling on cricket by cricketers." (6)

It is likely that small scale betting by players continued but there is little evidence that it impacted upon result of games. One incident that gained considerable media coverage occurred in 1981 during the Test Match between England v Australia at Headingley, when two Australian players, Dennis Lillee and Rodney Marsh placed a 15 [pounds sterling] bet at 500-1 on England to win. Against the odds, England pulled off a stunning victory and the Australians won their bet! No disciplinary action was taken against the players as it was believed that the bet was light hearted and there was no evidence that they had not done everything within their power to try and ensure a win for Australia. (7) At that time there were no rules about players betting on matches in which they were involved. In the light of events in the 1990's which are discussed below, that was changed and it is now a rigid condition in first class cricket that players and officials are not allowed to bet on cricket matches in which they are involved. In 2000 this condition was extended to cover those involved in the administration of international cricket. (8) In 2002 a Code of Ethics was introduced which applied the rule to all ICC Directors, Staff and Committee Members and extended it to state that they are not allowed to bet on any cricket matches at all. (9)

An accident waiting to happen

Despite this historical link between cricket and gambling, when revelations of corruption in the sport started to emerge in the 1990s, the sport and, in particular, the ICC had to face one of the greatest ethical challenges faced by any sport in the twentieth century. In 1995, Salim Malik, the former Pakistan captain, had allegedly attempted to bribe Australian players Mark Waugh, Shane Warne and Tim May to throw matches during their Tour of Pakistan in 1994. (10) Malik was suspended in March 1995 by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) whilst they investigated the allegations. He was initially cleared but due to repeated allegations and public pressure the PCB decided to constitute a further official inquiry into match fixing allegations. The inquiry released an interim report in September 1998 implicating Malik and additionally Wasim Akram and Ijaz Ahmed. The report called for the suspension of all three players until a wide-spread new investigation could be completed. The PCB appointed Justice Malik Mohammed Qayyum to head the investigation. The Quayyum investigation and subsequent report in 1998 turned out to be but the first in a line of major enquiries into corruption. In December 1998, the ACB admitted it secretly fined Waugh and Warne in 1995. It stated that both players agreed that they 'were stupid and naive' but denied they gave information concerning team line-ups or tactics. The ACB convened an independent inquiry into any other possible involvement of players headed by former Chairman of the Queensland Criminal Justice Commission, Rob O'Regan. In February 1999, the O'Regan Inquiry pronounced no evidence of Australian players' involvement in the practice of match fixing and players had always played to their optimum potential. The Report was critical however of the ACB's handling of the Waugh/Warne affair and highlighted the way that the problem of match fixing had been largely suppressed by the authorities.

These events exposed a systematic flaw in international cricket. The ICC's constitution gave sovereignty to each individual country to determine their own rules on player discipline and this meant that the ICC were powerless to do anything about the allegations of corruption. Something had to be done fast to rectify this and give the ICC authoritative power to tackle the problem head on and ensure that confidence in world cricket was restored. In January 1999 the nine Test playing nations (increased to ten in 2001) agreed to relinquish an element of their sovereignty and arm the ICC with wide ranging powers to deal with match fixing, bribery and other serious ethical violations. The individual countries from that point on were to be bound by uniform penalties established and enforced by the ICC. (11) It was also decided in 1999 that a commission, independent of any country cricket board would be convened to oversee investigations into allegations of corruption and recommend appropriate punishments. (12)

ICC Code of Conduct Commission

The ICC Code of Conduct Commission (the Commission) was established as the ultimate authority sitting over the governing body and its Member cricket boards. The ICC wanted to put in place a formal mechanism to operate with similar weight and authority as a permanent Judicial Commission. Although it is a Committee of the ICC, the Commission is totally independent of the ICC Executive Board of Directors and ICC Senior Management and has been given the specific task of making enquiries or overseeing enquiries into conduct which in the opinion of the ICC Executive Board is prejudicial to the interests of the game of cricket and to make recommendations to the ICC Executive Board accordingly.

The Commission operates in accordance with detailed Terms of Reference which were approved by the ICC Executive Board in 1999. (13) Lord Griffiths, was appointed the first Chairman of the ICC Code of Conduct Commission in April 1999. (14) He remained in post until Feb 2002 when the Hon Michael Beloff Q.C was appointed.

The Commission comprises one nominee from each Test Playing nation. The current Members include Richie Benaud, former Australian Captain and renowned commentator, Sir Oliver Popplewell, retired High Court judge and former President of Marylebone Cricket Club, Justice Dr Nasim Hasan Shah, retired Chief Justice of Pakistan and former President PCB and Justice Albie Sachs, current judge with the Constitutional Court of South Africa.

The first Code of Conduct Commission's Official Inquiry arose in 1999 when the Commission was referred by the ICC Executive Board to review the findings of two investigations and to advise the Board if any further action was required. The investigation of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) dated 17 November 1999 and the...