Allegations of spot-fixing by three England cricketers during a Test in India 18 months ago have been described as “outrageous” by their head coach, Trevor Bayliss, and captain, Joe Root, amid a flurry of denials in response to an investigation by al-Jazeera.
The documentary, Cricket’s Match-Fixers, was made public by the Qatar‑based broadcaster on Sunday, containing the allegation that England players deliberately batted defensively to order for a short passage of play during the fifth Test in Chennai in December 2016. This prompted the England and Wales Cricket Board to release a strongly worded statement from its chief executive, Tom Harrison, stating that the players “emphatically deny the allegations” and the material since shown has given the board “no reason” to doubt this.
Harrison said: “There is nothing we have seen that would make us doubt any of our players in any way whatsoever. The limited information we have been given has been discussed with all the England players.
“They emphatically deny the allegations, have stated categorically that the claims are false and they have our full support. Neither ECB nor the ICC is aware of any credible evidence connecting any England players to any form of corruption.” Bayliss, the head coach who took over the England team in 2015, told Sky Sports: “Outrageous. I knew a documentary was going to be coming out. I wouldn’t have a clue what’s in it yet, or seen it. But, having been there [at the Chennai Test], outrageous is all I can say.”
Root, also speaking after the side’s nine-wicket defeat against Pakistan at Lord’s on Sunday, said: “I am aware that there is a documentary and it is outrageous that our players have been accused. All the players have the full backing of the ECB.”
The programme shows the alleged middle man, Aneel Munawar, telling al-Jazeera’s undercover team which element of the Chennai Test will be manipulated, with players due to score slowly for a set number of overs. This information is to be used for betting purposes. Names of those allegedly involved are only stated by Munawar after the event but, like the specific information regarding which overs were allegedly manipulated, these are redacted in the final edit.
Munawar, who is confronted by al-Jazeera’s reporter at the end of documentary but leaves the room without comment, is alleged to work for “D-Company”, a syndicate that controls much of the illegal betting market in India that is worth an estimated $60bn per year.
A similar claim of spot-fixing is also made regarding two Australia players during the third Test against India in Ranchi last year. Cricket Australia responded before the documentary’s full broadcast with a statement from the chief executive, James Sutherland, that, like that of the ECB, insisted there was no “credible evidence”.
The two boards have made public their frustration at being given little material by al-Jazeera before the documentary was broadcast. The ICC had previously said this too and urged the network to share all unedited materials for its anti-corruption unit to investigate.
In response to the full broadcast, the International Cricket Council’s head of anti‑corruption, Alex Marshall, said: “The ICC has now had the opportunity to view the documentary and as we have previously stated, we are taking the contents and the allegations it has made extremely seriously. A full investigation is now under way to examine each claim made.
“We have been in ongoing dialogue with the broadcaster which has refused our continual requests to cooperate and share information which has hampered our investigation to date. The content of the programme is of course useful, but I would now urge the production team to provide us with all unedited and unseen evidence they are in possession of. Given this is a live investigation and one that is likely to be subject to the legal process, it is not possible to provide any further comment.”
As well as these two specific Tests, the documentary also alleges that the pitch at Galle in Sri Lanka can be tailored to specified outcomes for betting purposes. This allegedly took place during Tests against India and Australia in 2016 and 2017, with a further “pitch-fix” due when England tour in November. “Sri Lanka Cricket wishes to state that it has zero tolerance towards corruption and will take immediate action against any person involved in the alleged incident, if found guilty,” it said in a statement.
