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Viv tosses wood into match-fixing fire

West Indian great Vivian Richards added fuel to the raging match-fixing row in cricket on Tuesday, saying he suspected foul-play even in the mid-seventies.

Richards, adjudged one of the five top cricketers of the 20th century, said a former Pakistani captain had forfeited the toss during the home series against the West Indies in 1974-75.

"I will not take names here because I hate controversies, but I will tell you this: 'Clive Lloyd went out for the toss in one of the Tests in Pakistan and came back and said, 'You know what? I just lost the toss and I was told by the other captain that I had won,'" Richards said. "It was in 1974-75 if I can remember right," Richards told Cricket Talk magazine during a personal visit to India last week.

"I clearly remember Clive telling me this....I will not name the other captain, that's for you to figure out....but Clive said 'Man, I lost, and he said I won.'

"So obviously something has been going on since then."

Surrey leg-spinner Intikhab Alam was Pakistan's captain during the two-Test series against the West Indies in February-March 1975. Both matches were drawn after the West Indies were credited with winning the toss in the first Test at Lahore and Pakistan in the second at Karachi. Richards said that some people had even suspected the West Indies of throwing away the World Cup final against India in 1983.

"I know people said all sort of things back home. That we threw it away, that we underestimated India.

"But they were so silly, it showed their smallness. That was terrible injustice to India who won fair and square," Richards, known as the master blaster for his attacking batting, said.

The match turned India's way when Richards, who looked in terrific touch, fell to a brilliant catch near the mid-wicket boundary by rival captain Kapil Dev.

"Kapil changed everything with one brilliant catch," Richards said. "To me, that's what cricket is all about.

"To even suggest that we would throw something away like the World Cup is insane. I only know that at the end of the game, there were a lot of sick people in our dressing room. We felt sick that we could not win that game."

Richards said he was devastated that a great cricketer like Kapil Dev had now been accused of match-fixing.

"I just pray it's not true," he said. "We are only judging from allegations now. It's the word of someone against someone else. "I have always thought that Kapil was one person who carried the Indian flag to the cricket field. He was always the great fighter, he had his chest out and took immense pride in representing his country.

"Kapil left me the lasting impression of being one of the last true great competitors. So let's pray this is not true. Because if this is true, then I would have lost my faith," Richards said.

Kapil was last week accused by former Indian cricket chief Inderjit Singh Bindra of being the team-mate who offered Manoj Prabhakar a bribe to play badly in a one-day international against Pakistan in Sri Lanka in 1994.

Kapil vehemently denies the charge and ordered his lawyers to initiate legal action against Bindra.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has been asked by the Indian government to probe whether any Indian cricketer or official has been involved in match-fixing.