Spot-fixing bans will help ensure World Cup is clean, says Lorgat
WORLD cricket chief Haroon Lorgat has hailed the punishments handed out to the three Pakistan players found guilty of spot-fixing as proof the game is serious about rooting out corruption.
Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were banned on Saturday for between five and 10 years over allegations they deliberately bowled no-balls during the fourth Test against England last summer. All plan to appeal but Lorgat, the chief executive of the International Cricket Council, says the punishments have sent out a strong message ahead of the World Cup, which starts this month in the subcontinent.
“It’s important we have succeeded in the conviction,” he said. “It’s a message we are sending out that we will not tolerate any corruption. We want this message to be crystal clear. We will do everything in our power for the World Cup to be corruption-free and we are confident that measures are in place to achieve that.”