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Richards tried to hush up allegations

Paran Balakrishnan

David Richards, the International Cricket Council's chief executive, tried to hush-up allegations five years ago that Pakistan's then cricket captain had asked Australian players to 'throw' matches, the Sunday Times reported.

The London-based newspaper said it has obtained documents showing that Richards was kept regularly informed about allegations that Pakistan captain Salim Malik had approached Australian players to 'throw' matches, but he did not pass on the information to the Pakistanis.

The newspaper said it had been unable to obtain any comment from Richards, who, it said, has not been at his desk since the ICC's emergency meeting earlier this month.

Meanwhile, Richards has criticised Pakistan Cricket Board chief Arif Abbasi for speaking to the press on the issue.

"They have caused a heightening of the media coverage to the point that if and when the ACB provides information it will be extremely difficult to prevent the allegations from becoming public to the detriment of the image of cricket," he said in a faxed document.

"I reiterate the need for care in any public remarks and would hope that you speak to me direct," he added.

Australia's former manager Bob Simpson has also testified to the Justice Qayyum match-fixing inquiry that he met Richards and informed him about the offers. The Australians also kept the ICC regularly informed about its later investigations.

However, Richards did not communicate this information to the Pakistanis, according to the newspaper. "He told us he had been informed verbally and he thought it fit not to take any further action," says Javed Burki, who was chairman of an ad-hoc committee running Pakistan cricket at the time.

Pakistan Test cricketer Rashid Latif has also claimed that he sent allegations about match-fixing to the ICC chief executive three years ago but never received a reply.

Earlier this month Richards had mounted a stout defence of ICC president Jagmohan Dalmiya, who, he said, had not been involved in negotiating television rights for a one-day tournament in Bangladesh in 1998.

However, documents have emerged since then which suggest that Richards told broadcasting officials to deal with Dalmiya, the newspaper said.

Richards told Abbasi that he hoped to raise match-fixing allegations with the Australians but did not want them to become public. He wanted to, "discreetly progress the matter with you and your colleagues," he told the Pakistanis.

He took the view that "the onus lay first with the ACB to raise the matter discreetly or officially with the Pakistan board or file an official complaint to the ICC," the newspaper said.

The release of Justice Malik Qayyum’s report, following his match-fixing enquiry, is expected this week. It could provoke further controversy in the cricket world if it provides evidence of the allegations against Malik.

The Betting Scandal: The full story