Kiwi investigation a reminder of 'the plague'

Here’s a sorry stat. In the last three years 11 cricketers have been handed bans for corruption, nine more face charges from the Bangladesh Premier League scandal and at least three New Zealanders are being investigated.

It was 13 years ago that cricket was supposed to have suffered its nadir. Nine, including Hansie Cronje, the captain of South Africa, and his India counterpart, Mohammad Azharuddin, both behemoths of the game, were banned for fixing matches or agreeing to underperform for bookmakers.

But the dark clouds have never really lifted. The news that Chris Cairns, Lou Vincent and Daryl Tuffey are being probed is a reminder that the scourge will never go away. It is also a reminder that corruption in cricket is not a problem isolated to the Indian sub-continent.

New Zealand Cricket probably thought it was untouchable. And I say that because when researching Bookie Gambler Fixer Spy I had some dealings with them. They were shirty and precious. How very dare you cast aspersions in our direction.

Nothing is proved, of course, but that tale is told because it is very much the pervading attitude among boards other than Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka.  Nothing to do with us, they say. The ECB were the same until they appointed an anti-corruption unit. They have found in the last two years that, boy, do they need one.

Kiwi cricket is actually more vulnerable than most. The board is cash poor and subsequently so are their players. A top performer back in 2007 would have earned no more than $100,000 a year. So they need to earn money in places like the ICL and IPL, hotbeds for corruption as anyone with a semblance of knowledge of this grubby business will attest.

And there’s the rub. A trip to ICL or IPL is a bit like a young buck going on an 18-30 holiday to Ibiza. You’re young, dumb, careless. You make some bad decisions. You pick up something nasty. That nasty thing comes back with you. It follows you.

Between them, Vincent, Cairns and Tuffey played for 14 different clubs in four different countries. That is not to claim they are guilty, merely to point out how cricketers get around these days.

Vincent has a poor reputation in the game but will relish the chance to clear his name as he is probably sick and tired of being asked whether he has been up to no good. And best of luck to him.

Those who have good memories will, of course, remember that a match Vincent was involved with – the Sussex v Kent one-day match in 2011 – was investigated, and cleared, by the ICC. It has since been reported that the ECB have been having a good, hard look at it. As well they should. The betting patterns were off the scale.

It is unlikely that the Sussex v Kent match is one of those being referred to by the ACSU in this insistence. Nor are they expected to be international New Zealand games or domestic contests in the country.

Cairns’ name cropping up again is not a surprise either. The all-rounder has already won a libel case against Lalit Modi for claims about corruption in the ICL. He won easily (legal parlance not my forte), according to the judge, so he will be confident that he will not face a charge.