Australian duo were fined for passing information to bookmaker
AFP
8 December 1998
SYDNEY, Dec 9 (AFP) - Two of Australia's leading cricketers spin bowler Shane Warne and batsman Mark Waugh - were Tuesday
implicated in a betting scandal that has plunged the sport into
crisis, the Sydney Morning Herald reported in its early editions
on Wednesday.
The Australian Cricket Board confirmed on Tuesday night that it
had fined Waugh and Warne for providing information to an Indian
bookmaker during Australia's tour of Sri Lanka in 1994, the
newspaper reported.
Cricket officials had covered up the scandal ever since the
players were fined in early 1995.
It was reported that both players admitted having supplied the
bookmaker with information about match conditions and possible
team selection. It was unclear how much they had been fined.
The revelations come as a severe embarrassment to Australian
cricket officials, who supported claims by Warne, Waugh and spin
bowler Tim May in 1995 that Pakistan captain Salim Malik offered
them bribes to throw matches during their tour of that country in
1994.
Several Australian cricket officials have known of the affair
since the pair were fined, but have kept it secret because of its
explosive nature, the Herald reported.
The chief executive of the ACB, Malcolm Speed, on Tuesday night
confirmed there would be a media conference in Adelaide on
Wednesday at which the issue would be discussed. Waugh and Warne
are both expected to attend.
Speed said there was no suggestion that Waugh and Warne had been
involved in anything other than providing information. ``There is
no suggestion whatsoever of any match-fixing,'' he said.
Waugh is due to play for Australia in the third Test against
England starting at Adelaide Oval on Friday, while Warne is
absent through injury=2E
Waugh's manager, Leo Kalis, refused to comment, saying: ``Mark
will be making a statement tomorrow.''
News of the fines was expected to spark worldwide reaction but
the English Cricket Board declined to comment at its London
headquarters and referred enquiries to the International Cricket
Council.
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