The International Cricket Council has taken the rare move of rebuking an Indian newspaper for publishing "misleading and downright false" reports of match fixing at the World Cup. ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat issued a statement Wednesday naming a correspondent and a daily English language newspaper for publishing allegations involving a match between defending champion Australia and Zimbabwe.
"We do not comment on the activities of the ICC's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) and for good reason," Lorgat's statement said. "However, after several misleading and downright false stories appearing in recent weeks it is time for us to show our displeasure and expose those responsible for affecting the integrity of the media."
Lorgat said nobody from the ICC had spoken to any journalist from the media organisation. "It is also patently false of the reporter to claim that the ICC ever suggested to it that the match was corrupted," he said.
At a later news conference, Lorgat said the reporting was a "piece of irresponsible journalism." Allegations of corruption or match fixing are sensitive in cricket in the wake of bans for three key Pakistan players found guilty last month of "spot fixing" in a test series against England last year. The spot fixing - where players were bribed to bowl no-balls at set times - was only uncovered by a tabloid newspaper sting.
Lorgat was otherwise happy with the way the World Cup had progressed. "We have seen five runs an over in this World Cup, which I feel is the consequence of twenty20 cricket. Like I have said before, different formats of the game can coexist," he said.
Lorgat dismissed concerns over security for the final to be played at Mumbai on April 2 after reported terror threats. "We have a robust security (plan) in place. We are impressed by the security provided by the state," he said. Lorgat also said the ICC would consider the good performance of Associate members when it decides on the format of the next World Cup in 2015, which is set to be reduced from 14 teams to 10. There's no guarantee that the 10 places will go automatically to the 10 test-ranked nations.
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