Two of the most integral figures in international cricket’s fight against corruption are set to depart their roles in quick succession.
Earlier this week, the ICC announced Sir Ronnie Flanagan, the chair of their anti-corruption unit (ACU), will retire from the role at the end of next month.
Flanagan has been in the post since 2010 after replacing Lord Condon, the former commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.
The ICC plan to recommend a successor at a board meeting next month, but they will also need to consider candidates for a new head of integrity. Alex Marshall, the incumbent, is also set to retire from his role at the end of November.
Marshall has led the campaign to keep the sport clean for the best part of the past decade.
The following is an extract from Playing to Fix, my recently released book about corruption in cricket, in which Marshall explained the machinations of fixing.
The book centres on the case of the UAE team, which saw six players banned for a variety of anti-corruption offences related to the 2019 T20 World Cup Qualifier.
In an interview for the book, Marshall explained why players beyond cricket’s mainstream have become targets for organised crime gangs involved in match-fixing.
Extract from 'Playing to Fix'
In a documentary about corruption in cricket broadcast by Al Jazeera in 2018 – so one year ahead of the 2019 Qualifier – two alleged match-fixers brag that they have the UAE team doing their bidding.
“We have the UAE team in our hand,” one of them, a Dubai-based businessman who plays domestic cricket in the emirate, is secretly filmed saying.
“We have five players. Say three are batsmen and two are bowlers.” He also says they pay them a fee of $25,000 per fix.
How can that be profitable? Matches involving the UAE are generally watched by few people in person. More often than not, their games are not on television. And the online streams of their matches hardly do the sort of numbers that are going to break the internet.
With such minimal profile, how can there be enough interest in their games from gamblers that a $25,000 bribe – or $125,000 if five players are working on it – can be worthwhile?
“You would be surprised at the level of liquidity,” Alex Marshall says. Although Marshall’s integrity unit regarded claims made in the documentary as being unsubstantiated and lacking in evidence, the figure quoted in the case of the UAE players is plausible. He says around $30,000 is the usual offer made to a player at that level of the sport to fix aspects of matches.
“It depends what is on on the same day and at the same time, but people are betting constantly,” Marshall says. “There is sufficient liquidity to mean that, even at a relatively low-level tournament, it is definitely worth bribing someone $30,000.”
The ACU have investigated cases involving players in club competitions in Europe, in games played on AstroTurf wickets on fields with long grass and football-pitch markings on the outfield.
As lowly as that fixture had been, the fact it was live-streamed meant there would be a betting market on the game somewhere.
Marshall says the starting offer for a fix in a game like that can be $3,000. That fee rises depending on the level of the competition and the potential audience. For a high-profile franchise fixture or low-end international match, the starting fee would be in the region of $100,000.
“We watch every level of the game,” Marshall says. “We do the same education sessions with everyone at every level of the game, but criminality looks for vulnerability.
“Vulnerability will be in the place where people have less money, less good governance, where it is easier to gain access, and where players are more likely to accept $30,000 to $50,000.
“Some of the top players are multi-millionaires. If you are the criminal, how much are you going to have to offer a top international player, even if they are ever likely to be tempted? The alternative route for corruptors is compromise.”
A KPMG report, published in the year of the Qualifier, estimated the size of the Indian betting market to be around $120 billion, the overwhelming majority of which is sports betting.
That number is all the more startling given that gambling is largely prohibited in the country. The betting market is unregulated and run by underground bookmakers.
There are estimated to be over 100,000 of them across India. While they do operate outside of the law in their country, very few of those illegal bookmakers are involved in attempts to corrupt matches. In fact, the majority of cases are said to stem from as few as 10 to 12 individuals, according to the ACU.
“Bear in mind most cricket corruption connects to the unregulated betting markets,” Marshall says. “Nobody can see those.
“By contrast, in football and tennis, fixing is usually linked to regulated betting markets. Football and tennis start their corruption investigations with alerts from the betting industry. [In cricket] the bookies are illegal and unregulated.
“There are thousands of bookies, and most of them are not corrupt. They are illegal in the context of the country in which they are operating, but that doesn’t mean they are corruptors.
“A small subset of all the illegal bookies are also corruptors. They are the ones we are interested in. We are not there to catch illegal bookmaking in a country, we are there to stop corruption in cricket.”
Playing to Fix is available to buy in the UAE at amazon.ae and at pitchpublishing.co.uk.
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
SECRET%20INVASION
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The bio
Who inspires you?
I am in awe of the remarkable women in the Arab region, both big and small, pushing boundaries and becoming role models for generations. Emily Nasrallah was a writer, journalist, teacher and women’s rights activist
How do you relax?
Yoga relaxes me and helps me relieve tension, especially now when we’re practically chained to laptops and desks. I enjoy learning more about music and the history of famous music bands and genres.
What is favourite book?
The Perks of Being a Wallflower - I think I've read it more than 7 times
What is your favourite Arabic film?
Hala2 Lawen (Translation: Where Do We Go Now?) by Nadine Labaki
What is favourite English film?
Mamma Mia
Best piece of advice to someone looking for a career at Google?
If you’re interested in a career at Google, deep dive into the different career paths and pinpoint the space you want to join. When you know your space, you’re likely to identify the skills you need to develop.
LIVING IN...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Honeymoonish
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How Apple's credit card works
The Apple Card looks different from a traditional credit card — there's no number on the front and the users' name is etched in metal. The card expands the company's digital Apple Pay services, marrying the physical card to a virtual one and integrating both with the iPhone. Its attributes include quick sign-up, elimination of most fees, strong security protections and cash back.
What does it cost?
Apple says there are no fees associated with the card. That means no late fee, no annual fee, no international fee and no over-the-limit fees. It also said it aims to have among the lowest interest rates in the industry. Users must have an iPhone to use the card, which comes at a cost. But they will earn cash back on their purchases — 3 per cent on Apple purchases, 2 per cent on those with the virtual card and 1 per cent with the physical card. Apple says it is the only card to provide those rewards in real time, so that cash earned can be used immediately.
What will the interest rate be?
The card doesn't come out until summer but Apple has said that as of March, the variable annual percentage rate on the card could be anywhere from 13.24 per cent to 24.24 per cent based on creditworthiness. That's in line with the rest of the market, according to analysts
What about security?
The physical card has no numbers so purchases are made with the embedded chip and the digital version lives in your Apple Wallet on your phone, where it's protected by fingerprints or facial recognition. That means that even if someone steals your phone, they won't be able to use the card to buy things.
Is it easy to use?
Apple says users will be able to sign up for the card in the Wallet app on their iPhone and begin using it almost immediately. It also tracks spending on the phone in a more user-friendly format, eliminating some of the gibberish that fills a traditional credit card statement. Plus it includes some budgeting tools, such as tracking spending and providing estimates of how much interest could be charged on a purchase to help people make an informed decision.
* Associated Press
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A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
