Give evidence or shut up: ICC to rumour mongers

Dubai, June 13 (UNI) For those who think that corruption and match-fixing still plague cricket, ICC has one clear message: ''put up or shut up.'' Miffed that rumours surrounding Bob Woolmer's death had tarnished the reputation of the game the apex cricket body's Anti-Corrution and Security Unit (ACSU) came down hard on rumour mongers and told them to come up with conclusive evidence or leave the game alone.

''To those who suggest that corruption is still widespread throughout the game of cricket -- and there have been plenty of people who have peddled such comments to anyone prepared to listen in the aftermath of Bob's unfortunate and untimely death -- we have one clear message: put up or shut up,'' ACSU Chairman Lord Condon said following confirmation from the Jamaica Constabulary Force that the former Pakistan coach's demise on March 18 was due to natural causes.

''If anyone has any evidence whatsoever of corrupt practices within the game of cricket then we invite you to come forward and pass that information on to the ACSU. You can do so in complete confidence and we will be happy to investigate those claims.

''If you do not have such evidence then please, for the good of the game, let us now focus on events on the field and let us have cricket back in the headlines for all the right reasons,'' he said.

Lord Condon welcomed the true facts of Bob Woolmer's death being made public even as he mentioned that the ACSU sleuths assisting the investigations were finding the murder theory difficult to digest.

''From the outset, the ACSU counseled an open-minded approach to Bob's death as, based on their cumulative police experience and knowledge of the alleged crime scene, the death and the location had none of the obvious hallmarks of a murder and it remains a concern that the murder theory was so readily embraced.

''There can be little doubt that the reputation of both the ICC Cricket World Cup and the game of cricket as a whole were unnecessarily tarnished as the theories about Bob's death became wilder and more bizarre with many of those theories suggesting a link to corruption and match-fixing,'' he added.

UNI