Former ICC umpire John Holder concedes he was approached to 'fix' an ODI in Sharjah

Amid the spot-fixing saga a former West Indian umpire, John Holder, revealed on Sunday in London, he was offered £ 10,000 to help influence the course of a one-day international match in the United Arab Emirates in 1993.

Holder said he was approached related to a match between Sri Lanka and Pakistan in Sharjah. West Indies was the other team in the tournament.

The 68-year-old, Barbados-born former English professional cricketer revealed the explosive details to BBC Radio’s Test Match Special.

Holder, who also played for English county Hampshire, became a first-class umpire in 1983 and stood in 11 Tests and 19 ODIs from during the period from 1988 to 2001.

Topic came up to the fore amid the recent corruption charges relating to the Indian Premier League, and Hoder was asked if he’d ever been approached to ‘fix’ a match.

“I was in Sharjah in 1993 for a one-day international series between Sri Lanka, West Indies and Pakistan,” he said. “I was introduced to a man and offered 10,000 Pounds to make sure Sri Lanka batsmen put on a partnership of 85.

“He told me his syndicate were involved in making money as the game fluctuates.

“I said, ‘You’ve got the wrong person’. Players and umpires who get involved in match-fixing have got to realise there’s no such thing as easy money.

“Once you get into that, your career is ruined. You’d lose your self-respect, the players and commentators would know.

“I couldn’t live my life looking over my shoulder, and I’d always be remembered as a cheat, so I had to say no, and reported it.”

The IPL was rocked by a scandal this month which saw former Indian Test bowler Sreesanth and fellow Rajasthan Royals players Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan arrested for alleged involvement in spot-fixing.

And to make the matters worse, on Thursday, Pakistani umpire Asad Rauf was withdrawn from next month’s ICC Champions Trophy in the UK after the reports claimed that he was being investigated by Mumbai police.