Cricket match-fixing: officials lay down law for Hong Kong players in wake of lifetime ban for Ahmed brothers

Cricket Hong Kong chairman Tony Melloy says the players are clear on their obligations to report illegal approaches from match-fixers

Irfan and Nadeem Ahmed are banned for life while Haseeb Amjad is suspended for five years by ICC’s anti-corruption unit

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Irfan Ahmed, pictured in 2014, has thrown away a promising future with the Hong Kong cricket team. Photo: Thomas Yau

Published: 10:17am, 28 Aug 2019Updated: 10:23am, 28 Aug 2019

Cricket Hong Kong (CHK) is ramming ICC’s anti-corruption rule book down the throats of its players ahead of a busy autumn and winter schedule in the wake of lifetime bans for two Hong Kong players.

Tony Melloy, CHK’s chairman of the board, said the players are being schooled by Hong Kong resident Anoop Gidwani – an accountant and umpire who is trained by world governing body the ICC in protecting players from match-fixers.

He said players are clear on what must be done and will have no excuses if they fail to respond accordingly to any illegal approaches.

“We are lucky in CHK to have Anoop, who is a specialist in this area,” Melloy said. “He is doing it professionally and is fully trained by the ICC on its code of conduct.

“He runs workshops and will be with the national team next week. They do sit down on a regular basis and various scenarios are taught about how one might be approached and the unsavoury methods used.