The head of the ICC’s anti-corruption unit says he remains confident cricket fans “can trust what they are seeing”, in the wake of two UAE players being found guilty of contriving to fix international matches.
Mohammed Naveed and Shaiman Anwar were this week found guilty of corruption offences which carry with them the potential for lifetime bans from the sport.
An independent tribunal ruled they had been planning to fix aspects of matches at the 2019 T20 World Cup Qualifier, and discussed sums ranging up to $270,000 for the work.
Naveed, who was the UAE captain until the time the duo were provisionally suspended in October 2019, was also found guilty of similar charges related to the Abu Dhabi T10, which was set to follow that Qualifier.
Alex Marshall, the general manager of the ICC ACU, said the tribunal’s verdict sent a strong message about corruption.
"It is always sad to see these events happening in cricket, but it is also very good to see bad people prevented from committing corruption," Marshall told The National.
“It sends a strong message to anyone else who might be tempted. This was a plot to corrupt international cricket and the T10.
“The plot was stopped, but there was no doubt of the dishonest intent of these two, and what they would have done if they had gone through with the fixing.”
The sanctions facing the players are likely to be confirmed in around two weeks’ time.
Once the judgement was announced, the ACU and the two players were invited to write to the tribunal to suggest what they each feel would be a suitable punishment.
Naveed had already turned down an agreed sanction with the ACU, in favour of taking the case to tribunal.
Having now been found guilty, five years is the minimum suspension they will face. In likelihood, it could be as much as 20 years, or even the maximum of a life ban.
The ACU had presented around 400 pages of evidence to the tribunal, while Naveed and Shaiman were each represented by lawyers when the case was heard remotely back in November.
After two months, the tribunal published a 46-page report reasoning out their decision.
It said the tribunal were “comfortably satisfied” the players had “contrived to fix the result, progress, conduct or other aspect of one or more international matches”, as well as their failure to report an approach to do so.
“Their behaviour was wholly inconsistent with that of persons repelled by a corrupt approach; and wholly consistent with that of persons who either instigated such an approach or were willing recipients of one,” the report stated.
Marshall, whose team will be overseeing the 2021 season of the Abu Dhabi T10, which starts on Thursday, said they remain focused on protecting the sport.
“I am very pleased with the thoroughness of the investigation by my staff,” Marshall said.
“We will carry on protecting cricket from the small number of people who threaten to damage the game for everyone who watches or plays it.
“We keep a close eye on all high-level cricket, particularly international cricket. I remain confident that fans can trust what they are seeing.
“However, there are corrupters out there, who are trying to get into the game, trying to find people who are willing to do he wrong thing, trying to make profits from illegal betting.
“We will not drop our guard in pursuing and disrupting corrupters.”
Naveed reiterated that he failed to report a corrupt approach, but still maintains he is innocent of the charge of planning to fix.
“On the first day, I accepted that was my mistake – not reporting,” Naveed said. “I accept that I should be punished for that, but not the second charge.”
Shaiman could not be contacted for comment.
The Emirates Cricket Board have yet to comment on the guilty verdict of the duo.
Three other UAE players – Qadeer Ahmed, Ashfaq Ahmed and Amir Hayat – remain suspended, pending separate corruption investigations.
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Amith's selections:
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz GLA
Price, base / as tested Dh150,900 / Dh173,600
Engine 2.0L inline four-cylinder
Transmission Seven-speed automatic
Power 211hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 1,200rpm
Fuel economy, combined 6.4L / 100km
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
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Miss Granny
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Starring: Sarah Geronimo, James Reid, Xian Lim, Nova Villa
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(Tagalog with Eng/Ar subtitles)
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Recent winners
2002 Giselle Khoury (Colombia)
2004 Nathalie Nasralla (France)
2005 Catherine Abboud (Oceania)
2007 Grace Bijjani (Mexico)
2008 Carina El-Keddissi (Brazil)
2009 Sara Mansour (Brazil)
2010 Daniella Rahme (Australia)
2011 Maria Farah (Canada)
2012 Cynthia Moukarzel (Kuwait)
2013 Layla Yarak (Australia)
2014 Lia Saad (UAE)
2015 Cynthia Farah (Australia)
2016 Yosmely Massaad (Venezuela)
2017 Dima Safi (Ivory Coast)
2018 Rachel Younan (Australia)
Profile of Whizkey
Date founded: 04 November 2017
Founders: Abdulaziz AlBlooshi and Harsh Hirani
Based: Dubai, UAE
Number of employees: 10
Sector: AI, software
Cashflow: Dh2.5 Million
Funding stage: Series A
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
MATCH DETAILS
Chelsea 4
Jorginho (4 pen, 71 pen), Azpilicueta (63), James (74)
Ajax 4
Abraham (2 og), Promes (20). Kepa (35 og), van de Beek (55)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Marathon results
Men:
1. Titus Ekiru(KEN) 2:06:13
2. Alphonce Simbu(TAN) 2:07:50
3. Reuben Kipyego(KEN) 2:08:25
4. Abel Kirui(KEN) 2:08:46
5. Felix Kemutai(KEN) 2:10:48
Women:
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3. Immaculate Chemutai(UGA) 2:28:30
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Five ways to get fit like Craig David (we tried for seven but ran out of time)
Start the week as you mean to go on. So get your training on strong on a Monday.
Train hard, but don’t take it all so seriously that it gets to the point where you’re not having fun and enjoying your friends and your family and going out for nice meals and doing that stuff.
Think about what you’re training or eating a certain way for — don’t, for example, get a six-pack to impress somebody else or lose weight to conform to society’s norms. It’s all nonsense.
Get your priorities right.
And last but not least, you should always, always chill on Sundays.
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Other must-tries
Tomato and walnut salad
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
Scoreline
Al Wasl 1 (Caio Canedo 90 1')
Al Ain 2 (Ismail Ahmed 3', Marcus Berg 50')
Red cards: Ismail Ahmed (Al Ain) 77'
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Day 2 at the Gabba
Australia 312-1
Warner 151 not out, Burns 97, Labuschagne 55 not out
Pakistan 240
Shafiq 76, Starc 4-52
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
360Vuz PROFILE
Date started: January 2017
Founder: Khaled Zaatarah
Based: Dubai and Los Angeles
Sector: Technology
Size: 21 employees
Funding: $7 million
Investors: Shorooq Partners, KBW Ventures, Vision Ventures, Hala Ventures, 500Startups, Plug and Play, Magnus Olsson, Samih Toukan, Jonathan Labin
More from Neighbourhood Watch
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The bio
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite travel destination: Maldives and south of France
Favourite pastime: Family and friends, meditation, discovering new cuisines
Favourite Movie: Joker (2019). I didn’t like it while I was watching it but then afterwards I loved it. I loved the psychology behind it.
Favourite Author: My father for sure
Favourite Artist: Damien Hurst
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 582bhp
Torque: 730Nm
Price: Dh649,000
On sale: now
