Cricket Australia states 'no evidence' of player involvement in claimed Ashes spot-fixing

Cricket Australia Chief Executive James Sutherland has said there is no evidence players from either England or Australia are involved in alleged plans to rig parts of today's third Ashes Test in Perth.

London's The Sun newspaper has published what it says are secret recordings with two men claiming they have an agent in the Australian camp - known as 'The Silent Man' - able to help spot fix results in the WACA Test.

However, after speaking to International Cricker Council CC anti-corruption manager Alex Marshall Sutherland told reporters there was "no evidence" to support the The Sun's claims.

As reported by the ABC, Sutherland stated "what we heard from from Alex Marshall … is that there's no evidence, substance or justification based on the dossier of information the ICC's received from the news outlet, based on ICC intelligence from previous investigations - there's no substance to these allegations, or justification to suspect that this Test match or indeed the Ashes series as a whole is subject to corrupt activities.

"We have absolute confidence in our players."

He said the timing of the report, on the morning of day one of a potentially series-clinching Test match, was a "bit strange, obviously".

The men in the recordings allegedly said they were in touch with 'The Silent Man' and offered to sell details of rigged periods of play for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The Sun said its investigators posed as financiers for illegal London bookmakers during the alleged sting.

A man, who the newspaper claims is a bookmaker, says in purportedly undercover video footage "before (the) match, I will tell you this over, this runs and then you have to put all the bets on that over."

During the video, information on fixes are heard to be worth about $200,000.

The pair said corrupt players send signals to spotters in the crowd by making a subtle gesture on the field, such as changing their gloves, according to The Sun.

The spotters then tell bookies who quickly bet millions into the underground Indian market.

The report also refers to the fixing of "four to five" Big Bash League matches.

The ICC said its anti-corruption unit had received material relating to The Sun probe, and would investigate the allegations.

Marshall stated "from my initial assessment of the material, there is no evidence, either from The Sun or via our own intelligence, to suggest the current Test Match has been corrupted.

"At this stage of the investigation, there is no indication that any players in this Test have been in contact with the alleged fixers.

"The allegations are wide ranging and relate to various forms cricket in several countries, including T20 tournaments.

"We will look closely at all the information as part of our investigation."

In a statement released this morning, Cricket Australia said it would cooperate fully with any ICC Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) investigation.

The statement advised "the allegations raised by media outlets are of serious concern. Cricket Australia takes a zero tolerance approach against anybody trying to bring the game into disrepute.

"Australian cricket has a longstanding, proactive approach to sports integrity management and Cricket Australia has a dedicated Anti-Corruption and Security Unit to prevent corruption within Australian domestic competitions, including the BBL.

"In addition to this, all players participating in CA sanctioned competitions, including the BBL, are required to complete an anti-corruption education session before they can compete.

"CA works closely with the ICC ACU on all international fixtures played in Australia.

With ABC/AAP

Image: The third Ashes test starts today at the WACA.

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