ICC turn down Bindra request to attend meeting

The meeting, presided over by ICC President Jagmohan Dalmiya is also expected to ratify a code of conduct evolved by ICC’s Code Of Conduct Commission, to deal with allegations of match manipulation and defining terms of reference.

According to sources, the commission set up by ICC last year has reviewed and apparently found satisfactory internal inquiries by India and Australia into match-fixing.

Top cricket administrators expressed concern corruption could be widespread with England Board Chief Lord MacLaurin saying over BBC Radio that “I have a nasty feeling that it might be”.

United Cricket Board of South Africa (UCBSA) Managing Director Ali Bacher is expected to provide evidence following the Cronje episode, but Pakistan will not table its unpublicised judicial inquiry report at the meet.

Meanwhile, former Cricket Board Chief Inderjit Singh Bindra’s request for attending the meeting has been turned down.

Asked whether Bindra, who has arrived here claiming tha the wanted to submit a dossier on match-fixing allegations at the meeting, will be permitted to attend, Dalmiya shot back, “in what capacity can he attend the executive council?”

AP adds: Questions have been raised about how much can be achieved at the meeting. The summit has been restricted to 18 ICC delegates, who are mostly figureheads, while the Chief executive of the nine Test-playing nations are absent.

Dalmiya said Bindra could provide all the evidence he has before CBI, which is investigating match-fixing allegations in Indian cricket as well as corruption in allocation of sports telecast rights, or write to ICC.

ICC Chief executive Dave Richards has written to Bindra saying India had only one representation on the management committee and since that was already taken by BCCI President AC Muthiah, there was no way Bindra could attend.

In Muthiah’s absence following his mother’s death, former BCCI President Rajsingh Dungarpur, is attending the meeting.

Bindra, who is the Punjab Association president, has said he did not want to attend as a delegate but wanted to address the meeting and pass on the information he had.

Lord MacLaurin, who had sought the meeting after the Cronje scandal broke out, hoped ICC would come out with something to show it had teeth. “It is vital that ICC takes a grip of things. It is important we get the report from the Pakistan Board and I know that the President has written to them, asking for it to be made available”.

KARACHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will receive a much-awaited judicial commission report on match-fixing on Friday and it will be made public before the end of June, a top official said on Tuesday.

“I am meeting the patron of the PCB on Friday who has been delivered with the sealed copy of Justice Malik Mohammad Qayyum’s Report,” cricket board chairman Tauqir Zia said.

The patron of the PCB is Pakistan President Rafiq Tarar, who was given a copy of the report last week.

Zia said he had talked to Qayyum who told him the report’s recommendations included life bans on some players and heavy fines for others.

Zia said no date had been set for the publication of the report but it would be presented at the annual ICC meeting at Lord’s on June 20 and 21.

“Before I submit it to the International Cricket Council (ICC) next month, the report will be released. But at the moment, I cannot fix any time limit,” Zia said.

Zia said the report was wrongly sent to the Sports Ministry last October.

“It was a mistake. The PCB is an independent entity and doesn’t come under the Sports Ministry,” he said. “I have been told that the president has the report now.”

No other details on the report were available, but Zia said he would carry out its recommendations.

“The recommendations in the report will be implemented because the board is determined to eliminate the cancer which is not only affecting the game but also creating an element of doubt in the minds of the followers of the game,” he said .