ICC anticorruption unit says countries that lack the resolution to deal with corrupt cricketers should be barred from the sport, the first head of the International Cricket Council (ICC) anticorruption unit, Paul Condon, said yesterday. The former head of the Metropolitan Police — who became the first head of the unit in 2000 following the match-fixing scandal involving then South African captain Hansie Cronje — also told the BBC that the ICC had to get tougher with its punishments. Condon — who was succeeded by former Royal Ulster Constabulary chief Sir Ronnie Flanagan — was speaking following the prison sentences handed down in
London last Thursday to three Pakistani cricketers and their agent, Mazhar Majeed, for spot-fixing in last year’s Test series against England. "The ICC has to give out the harshest sentences it can," he said. "The nuclear option is banning boards from international cricket. "The ICC must get tougher. This is a big wake-up call. Cricket is at a credibility crossroads. The ICC and national boards have to be tough and, if they are not, they have to face the consequences." Lord Condon, who stepped down in June last year, said the cricketers — former captain Salman Butt and pace bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir — deserved to go to jail. The trio received five-year bans from the ICC in February. "They deserved the sentences they got. I have mixed reactions — sadness, but I’m not surprised. They betrayed their country and millions of people around the world who love cricket," said Condon.
Read Full: BusinessDay - Former chief wants ICC to get tougher on corruption
