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Case re-opened ACB to re-examine Waugh's links with bookmakers
Updated: Thursday November 02, 2000 10:44 PM
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- Mark Waugh's version of his dealings with an Indian bookmaker will be reviewed by investigators from domestic and international anti-corruption agencies, Australian Cricket Board chief executive Malcolm Speed said Thursday. Mark Waugh was one of a dozen international cricketers named Wednesday in a 162-page report into cricket corruption compiled by India's Criminal Bureau of Investigation. The report alleged that Mark Waugh and the former cricket captains of six nations, including star West Indian batsman Brian Lara, Alec Stewart of England, disgraced South African Hansie Cronje and Sri Lanka's Aravinda De Silva, were either offered or accepted money to tank games or provide information for bookmakers. Speed said the International Cricket Committee's anti-corruption unit and the ACB's own special investigator, Greg Melik, would be invited to investigate allegations that Mark Waugh received US$20,000 from an Indian bookmaker. "We have always said that if any fresh evidence or new allegations came to light we would investigate them," Speed said after reviewing the CBI document, which was compiled over six months. "Mark Waugh has assured us he will cooperate." In the CBI report, M.K. Gupta, an admitted illegal gambler, alleged that he paid Mark Waugh, twin brother of Australian captain Steve Waugh, for pitch, weather and strategic information during Australia's 1994 tour of Sri Lanka. Mark Waugh, along with former Australian vice-captain Shane Warne, admitted accepting some money from the Indian bookmaker. But Mark Waugh has only owned up to receiving about US$4,000. Both players were fined and reprimanded by the ACB in 1995, although their dealings with the bookmaker and their penalties were not published until 1998. Waugh said the latest allegations from Gupta were inflated and inaccurate. "I'd just like to say that the unsubstantiated allegations from India are totally untrue," he told reporters gathered at an Australian squad training camp in Queensland state. "I've been through two inquiries ... all my evidence is there. But of course I'm willing to cooperate if there are any further investigations." Mark Waugh said he wants to focus on cricket. "It's been a long saga and I'm confident it will be buried shortly and we can get on with the game," he said. "Naturally it's playing on my mind, I wouldn't be human if it wasn't. Hopefully it can be cleared up quickly and we can get on with life." Speed said Mark Waugh would continue to train with the 25-man Australian squad and would remain in contention for the team to play the West Indies in the upcoming test series. Earlier, Australian coach John Buchanan said the corruption scandal was a distraction that authorities and the public would prefer to ignore. Buchanan, who last season guided the Australians to 10 consecutive test wins and a record equaling unbeaten stretch of 14 limited-overs internationals, has backed his under fire batsman. "Obviously it's a distraction that nobody wants," Buchanan said. "We would all, in cricket, be better off without the whole affair. But, at the moment, the impact is really minimal up here." Buchanan said the Australian team supported Mark Waugh and he urged the Australian public to support him despite allegations that he'd taken four times the amount from bookmakers than he'd admitted receiving. "Obviously (Mark) is very concerned, very disappointed about what came out," Buchanan said. "But, I don't see why Mark Waugh and the rest of the Australian cricket team shouldn't have the support of the Australian public." Speed said the inquiries were "important steps toward ensuring that the game of cricket regains its credibility in the eyes of the world." While Malcolm Gray, the incoming ICC president, said he didn't expect the latest reports to be the last about cricket corruption. "I would think we're getting to the bottom of it now but I can assure you that it is a lot deeper and broader than anybody realized or expected," Gray told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio in Melbourne. "We've been managing this issue for six to nine months and I suspect in the future we might get hit with more bad news," he said. Gray commended the CBI for its diligence in producing the report, but added that only "time will tell" about how many of the allegations are accurate.
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