Jagmohan Dalmiya, the president of cricket's world governing body, said the situation had reached a point where the ICC could no longer sit on the fence and ignore the effects of the claims. ``Unfortunately, the very fabric of the great game is being damaged due to the charges of match fixing or betting brought by the players,'' he said.

The move follows recent confessions by Shane Warne and Mark Waugh that they took money from a bookmaker for providing information about weather and pitches during a tour of Sri Lanka in 1994, and investigations into match fixing in Pakistan.

The ICC's executive board will meet in Christchurch, New Zealand, next month to consider setting up a commission to investigate the charges, said Dalmiya, who added that the investigation reflected a definitive shift in ICC policy.

``The ICC cannot merely be a passive spectator,'' he said, ``and our intervention in the matter at the earliest is essential. It's time for the ICC to step in as these allegations are spreading like a wild infection.

``If anybody is found guilty then stringent action should be taken. This is in the best interest of the game and, if necessary, past probes which were closed earlier would be reopened.''

In the past the governing body had left the allegations to be dealt with by the individual boards of the nine Test-playing nations as they saw fit.

``Circumstances are such that now we should step in,'' said Dalmiya.