We will take forward the investigations: Condon

"Cato used to assert that wise men profited more by fools than fools by wise men; for that, wise men avoided the faults of fools, but that fools would not imitate the good examples of wise men," quoted philosopher Plutarch. This is precisely what has happened to the game of cricket since the story first broke in April of match-fixing in the game. There has been talk of cleansing the game from all quarters including Manoj Prabhakar, the man who blew the whistle, the various cricket boards, the government, the investigation agencies be it ICC's, CBI, King Commission or Scotland Yard. But what all these people have conveniently forgotten is that those who benefited the most - the bookies - have been forgotten in this exercise. Indeed, so far nobody has taken any action against the bookies while the players have been targetted.

Given this background, the ICC anti-corruption director Sir Paul Condon told a press conference in New Delhi on Wednesday that it was the duty of all cricket playing nations to carry forward the investigations from where the CBI had left it. He added "We will take forward the investigations from here and ensure coordinated efforts to remove the menace of betting and match-fixing in cricket." Condon added "We are determined to leave no stone unturned in investigating these allegations. As a result, we have been working to establish whether this evidence can be uncovered." He also said that the ICC probe into malpractice would reach far and wide.

Condon said "If there are guilty cricketers, then they have a great deal to fear now," he said at the end of his trip to India. He added that "We all want to believe that what is happening out there has to do with skill and a bit of luck and not telephone calls and shady deals."

Talking to reporters after his meeting with the Union Sports Minister Uma Bharti, Condon said the talk was purely a courtesy call. He also said that the ICC would 'further probe' the role of the foreign cricketers who have been named in the CBI report. "We have got up-todate information on foreign players," he said, after his team met Union Law Minister Arun Jaitley, Uma Bharti and KK Paul, head of New Delhi Police.

Condon said "We have now concluded talks with key figures from the BCCI, CBI, Delhi Police and the Indian government to gather information in areas where India's premier investigating agency has no jurisdiction."

Condon said "We have amassed considerable information here and now we will analyse this and submit a report to Lord Griffiths of the ICC around April next year. But at this point of time we are not prepared to say which individuals we met. The mandate given to us by the ICC is clear that no one who has indulged in unfair practice be spared and at the same time no innocent person is falsely implicated. This is going to be a long process. This is not a sprint but a marathon and we need to take a good hard look at it."

On the scandal, Condon said the revelations made so far in the matchfixing scandal were "only the tip of the iceberg," adding "We have gathered enough information about the players and others named in the CBI report and hope to carry forward our investigations on overseas players with their help." On the punishment meted out to the players in different countries, Condon said "The law will vary from country to country. The actual impact in each country will be different but there is a standard code of conduct for all countries, reinforced by individual laws."

When a reporter asked Condon how the ICC proposed to control the bookies, Condon replied, "The growth of the internet, telecast of all cricket matches, increase in the use of mobile phones etc. have provided an enormous opportunity for malpractice and we need to streamline and tighten it all and make such conditions that it becomes extremely difficult for people to indulge in such activities."

Condon was accompanied by Greg Mellick, investigator of the Australian Cricket Board, New Zealand official Tim Gresson and Sri Lankan official Desmond Fernando. Mellick in a statement said "As previously stated by the ACB, we have been conducting an investigation working together with other boards. This visit has been a good example of that cooperation." Fernando said the visiting team had taken the CBI's charges seriously. He added "Each of the Boards who have players named in the CBI report are taking the allegations very seriously. The most effective way forward is through the sharing of information and agreement to a coordinated approach. My investigations will continue on this basis."

Meanwhile, four youths have lodged a complaint with the Rajkot police station against the former Indian captains Mohd. Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja and the bookies for cheating them by fixing the Titan Cup match between India and South Africa at Rajkot in 1996.

The case was registered, on a complaint by Sanjay Vyas, an advocate and one of the spectators at the venue who said in his FIR that by fixing the Rajkot match played on October 29, 1996, both the senior players had cheated spectators such as him, who had come to enjoy a fair game. Vyas also added that he was aggrieved because the subsequent `revelation' that the match was rigged made it a loss of money and time for spectators such as him who had paid for his ticket.

On a separate front, the Union Sports Minister Uma Bharti said on Wednesday that the government is proposing some changes in the provisions of the law to incorporate issues like match fixing. Talking to the media in New Delhi, Bharti said "Changes in law will have to be made definitely. Some suggestions have been made to the law ministry." She also said "there is no clarity in law on such an issue (match fixing) as nobody visualised that such a thing could ever happen. Now the time has come to incorporate the necessary changes in the law."