How a cricket match-fixing probe fell apart: part 2 – a failed mission to nail an Asian player in the England squad
- With the Munawar avenue effectively closed, the investigation team switch their attention to focus solely on the England squad.
- Their aim is to catch an England player in the act and target one of the squad’s Asian stars.
In 2012, the BBC’s Panorama team, together with a private production company, embarked on a project to uncover corruption in cricket. The trail took them to India, where a man who goes by the name of Aneel Munawar said he had the ability to organise spot-fixing in matches, where the run rate can be doctored over a specified number of overs.
The Panorama investigation subsequently fizzled out and the production company then joined forces with a major UK broadsheet newspaper, which tried to organise a sting on an England player of Asian background.
When that failed, the team turned their attention to a player who had already been banned in the wake of a spot-fixing scandal in the hope that he would help recruit unmask other cricketers. That also ended in failure.
In part 2 of the SCMP’s three-part series, we follow the new alliance of broadsheet newspaper and TV production company in their efforts to nail one of England’s Asian players.
At a crucial point in the investigation, however, BBC management withheld funding, despite possessing evidence that had the potential to uncover lurid details of match-fixing on a scale not seen since the disgrace of former South Africa captain, the late Hansie Cronje – evidence a number of news organisations continue to sit on to this day.