LONDON  - England’s batting coach and former captain, Graham Gooch has asked the ICC to take some serious measures to cleanse the sport from the menace of match-fixing.
Reacting to the latest revelations of corruption in cricket, the former cricketer said the game’s governing body “needs to set its house in order”. “It’s very sad for the game that these stories keep raising their ugly heads,” Gooch, who is currently accompanying the England team to Sri Lanka for a two-match Test series, was quoted as saying by the Daily Telegraph.
“Everyone now should be on their guard. It’s a challenge for the game of cricket to put its house in order. The authorities all around the world should all be working together to get things right,” he added.
Gooch, England’s record Test run-scorer, said the majority of the cricketers want to play a fair game. “We want the game to be clean and a fair contest. The vast majority of cricketers want to play an honest game, face up to the challenge of the opposition and give it their best shot.
“They want to know, if they win, that they’ve given it their best and their opponents have given it their best too. That’s what you play for,” he said.The former England opener also felt that there was a need to educate the prospective cricketers on the issue of match-fixing.
“Hopefully, there will be a lot better education of young players in terms of what players need to be wary of and on their guard over,” Gooch said.