ICC backs Lou Vincent's life ban

Lou Vincent (File Photo)

Dubai, July 1 (IANS) The International Cricket Council (ICC) Tuesday supported the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20) Governing Council decisions to ban New Zealand cricketer Lou Vincent for life breaching their respective Anti-Corruption Codes.

In a statement, ICC chief executive David Richardson said: "The ICC endorses the decisions of the CLT20 and ECB to impose life bans on Lou Vincent.

"The ICC has a zero-tolerance approach towards corruption and these life bans, together with the life ban recently imposed by the ECB on Naveed Arif, should send out a loud and clear message to all those who indulge in corrupt practices and think they can get away with it."

Richardson said that the ICC will do its best to ensure that those involved with match-fixing will be punished.

"Whilst the strategy of the anti-corruption units remains focused on education, prevention and disruption of efforts to corrupt, in those small number of instances where suspicious activity is uncovered, no stone will be left unturned to bring those involved to justice. These unscrupulous corruptors and small group of greedy individuals should not be permitted to destroy the game for the overwhelming majority who play the game as they should, and the fans across the world," he said.

Richardson said the ICC noted the sentiments expressed in the statement of Vincent and commended him for having the courage to finally tell the truth and to co-operate with the investigations.

"I encourage all the players to note how engagement in this type of activity can destroy careers and lives," he said.

Richardson congratulated the anti-corruption units of the Cricket Australia (CA), Board of Control for Cricket India (BCCI), England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and ICC for a successful prosecution.

"The Vincent admission and subsequent prosecutions only came about as a result of a difficult and painstaking multi-jurisdictional investigation involving excellent collaborative work between the anti-corruption units of CA, ECB, BCCI and the ICC," concluded Richardson.