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ICC officials begin operation salvage

Paul Martin in London

All delegates to the emergency meeting of the International Cricket Conference (ICC) have signed a document declaring that they have 'no financial interest, direct or indirect' in the game of cricket at national and internal level, apart from those interests already known to their own domestic cricket boards.

Lord MacLaurin, the England Cricket Board head, presented them with the declaration and insisted they sign soon after the meeting started on a typically overcast day at cricket's headquarters. If anyone had refused to sign, MacLaurin proposed that the rebel member 'must forfeit the confidence of the ICC and this Executive Board'.

There is a degree of ambiguity in the statement, in that it is not clear what 'known to' the Board actually means.

The declaration comes days after a British newspaper published details of an offshore company allegedly part-owned by a top ICC boss and allegedly in which a TV cricket rights mogul also had interests, as did other Asian cricket chiefs.

David Richards, the beleagured ICC executive director, assured journalists that there would be no cover-up, and that a very constructive statement over match-fixing was being preparared for release today (Wednesday) lunch-time. He spoke of the delegates' determination to root out match-fixing and irregularities from the game.

In London to seek a hearing from the ICC is Dalmiya's predecessor as the Indian Cricket Board president, Inderjit Singh Bindra. He recently told a press conference that Dalmiya is "in the grip of the mafia and sharks". However Richards said Bindra has been asked to put his claims in writing.

Richards denied claims by an investigator for Indian state television that rights to the 1998 ICC knock-out trophy held in Bangladesh had been sold too cheaply as part of an underhand collaboration between ICC President Jagmoyan Dalmiya and TV interests. Richards said he had personally supervised the process of four bidders, and all had been done properly.

Judge Malik Mohammed Qayyum's suppressed report on Pakistani match-fixing, reportedly naming seven Test players, is to be handed over to the ICC well before next month's annual general meeting, Pakistan's representative indicated to Sport Africa last night.

Another delegate told this correspondent: 'We already have the powers to have any player involved in match-fixing, bribery or contacts with bookmakers to be banned for life from cricket. Now is the time to use these clauses, forcefully.'

It is far from clear, though, that this view would have majority support in practice rather than just in words.

Paul Martin is editor-in-chief of Sport Africa and Live Africa