Corruption not a problem – Graves

Haroon Lorgat, chief executive of the International Cricket Council, believes tightened controls at international level could see the problem switch to the county game.

Last month, former Essex pace bowler Mervyn Westfield became the first county cricketer convicted of spot-fixing, sparking fears the floodgates could open.

But Graves is confident it was an isolated case and believes county cricket is overwhelmingly clean.

Speaking exclusively to the Yorkshire Post, Graves said: “I don’t think the situation is anywhere near as bad as Haroon Lorgat makes it out to be.

“He’s stepping down as ICC chief executive in the summer and I think he’s going out by throwing a few hand grenades around, to be honest.

“Personally, I don’t think county cricket is corrupt at all, and I really don’t see this being a problem.

“The Westfield case has been going on about 18 months and I think that in itself has made people wary.”

Westfield, 23, faces a maximum seven years in prison after admitting accepting £6,000 to concede 12 runs during his opening over in a Pro40 match against Durham in 2009.

The game was televised live and available to view in many parts of the world, making it a target for the illegal gambling industry.

Lorgat, 51, believes recent punishments dished out to Pakistan players Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif, who were jailed for their part in the spot-fixing scandal of 2010, might inspire criminals to target more domestic rather than international games.

It would be theoretically easier because county cricket is not subject to the same rigorous controls; it would be expensive and impractical, for example, to have anti-corruption officers at every county fixture.

“I’ve got a particular concern that the fact that we’ve tightened it up around the international circuit does mean it’s possible that it could be moving down to the domestic scene,” warned Lorgat.

“And in that sense we’d encourage all of the member boards to almost replicate the ACSU (Anti-Corruption and Security Unit) facilities in domestic cricket.”

However, Graves believes the England and Wales Cricket Board already effectively police county competitions.

The ECB have a dedicated Anti-Corruption, Education and Security Unit, led by former Dorset chief constable Jane Stichbury, while players are routinely educated about potential pitfalls.

Each pre-season, the players’ union, the Professional Cricketers’ Association, sit down with county squads to outline things that players should look out for.

In addition, every player is sent an online Anti-Corruption tutorial.

“The ECB, more than anybody in the world, is switched on to this problem,” insisted Graves, who also sits on the ECB management board.

“There is an anti-corruption squad, the procedures are all in place on how to handle things from a player’s point of view and there are specific guidelines they have to observe.

“At Yorkshire, the players are made fully aware of the various risks and it’s an ongoing process of raising awareness.

“I certainly don’t see the procedures being stepped up in light of what happened to Westfield because I think the education is fairly intense anyway.”

In light of Westfield’s conviction, the ECB have announced an amnesty until April 30 for players to come forward with suspicions or information they think may be significant.

Under ECB regulations, it is an offence not to report corruption activity, but Graves doubts further disclosures will be forthcoming.

“I would be very surprised if anything else came out,” he added.

“I’ve been around cricket for 10 years now and talked to numerous players during that time and I’ve never heard anything – not even a whisper.

“I don’t think county cricket is corrupt at all.

“To be honest, I think it’s international cricket where the problem lies.”

Westfield is due to be sentenced at the Old Bailey on February 10.

Judge Anthony Morris has already warned him: “I hold out no promises to you as to the eventual outcome of this case.

“It’s open to the court in this case to pass an immediate custodial sentence.”

Although Graves welcomes the jail terms handed down to Butt, Asif and Amir, he does not support the idea of blanket prison sentences/cricketing life bans for those involved in corruption activity.

“I think each case is different and needs to be treated as such,” he said. “If it’s a worldwide scam involving hundreds of millions of pounds, then there is probably a case for banning people for life.

“But if it’s just relatively minor sums of money that we’re talking about, then I probably wouldn’t want to go down that route.

“That said, I thought the jailing of the Pakistani cricketers was good because it sent out a clear message that this sort of thing will not be tolerated.”

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Corrupting cricket: Page 25.