Project Report on – ROLL OF ICC IN PREVENTING
MALPRACTISES IN CRICKET
Submitted by
Name of the candidate – GURMEHAR SINGH MINHAS
Division-A Roll No. 19010323045
Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad Symbiosis International
University, PUNE
In
October, 2019
Under the guidance of
Name of guide – DR. SANU RANI PAUL
SYMBIOSIS LAW SCHOOL, HYDERABAD
SYMBIOSIS INTERNATIONAL (DEEMED UNIVERSITY),
PUNE
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C E R T IF IC AT E
The Project titled “ ROLE OF ICC IN PREVENTING MALPRACTISES IN CRICKET ”
submitted to the Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad as part of Internal assessment on Legal
Research is based on my original work carried out under the guidance of DR. SANU RANI
PAUL from________ to __________. The research work has not been submitted elsewhere
for the award of any degree.
The material borrowed from other sources and incorporated in the thesis has been duly
acknowledged.
I understand that I myself could be held responsible and accountable for plagiarism, if any,
detected later on.
Signature of the candidate
Date:
2
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I have taken efforts in this project. However, it would not have been possible without the kind
support and help of many individuals and organizations. I would like to extend my sincere
thanks to all of them.
I am highly indebted to DR. SANU RANI PAUL for her guidance and constant supervision
as well as for providing necessary information regarding the project & also for their support
in completing the project.
I would like to express my gratitude towards my parents for their kind co-operation and
encouragement which help me in completion of this project.
My thanks and appreciations also go to my colleague in developing the project and people
who have willingly helped me out with their abilities.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents
A) INTRODUCTION 5-6
B) MAIN TEXT
HISTORY OF CRICKET AND ICC AND HOW IT EVOLVED 7-10
HOW ICC DEALT WITH MALPRACTISE INCIDENTS 11-13
LAWS OF CRICKET AND ICC’S CODE OF CONDUCT 14
CONCLUSION 15-16
RECOMMENDATIONS 16-18
C) BIBLIOGRAPHY 19
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INTRODUCTION
1. INTRODUCTION
This research project will basically tell about the basics of cricket , how it started , how it was
played earlier. It will discuss about the International Cricket Council (ICC), how it was
developed and what is it role in this famous game as a background the main topic.
Further , it will discuss about the various laws made by the ICC and how they are
implemented. It will also talk about the corruption in cricket nowadays and what is ICC’s role
in preventing these malpractises.
2. RESEARCH QUESTION
Whether the ICC is able to prevent malpractices in the game in the game of cricket and
whether its laws made are implemented properly?
3. HYPOTHESIS
The ICC is performing its duty in the best way it can possibly do. Since, the recent times it
has become strict with its laws and has started to punish those who are breaking the laws.
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4. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
1. To know about history of Cricket
2. To know how ICC came into existence
3. To know the laws which have been made by ICC
4. To know whether these laws are being implemented properly
5. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The problem that whether ICC is able to stop Malpractises in cricket will be unfolded. It will
tell us the duties of ICC and how they are dealing with those duties.
6. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The research methodology used in this research would be Empirical research.
Empirical Research is a systematic collection of data and its analysis according to some
generally accepted method. Various tools like surveys, questionnaires, observations,
interviews, etc are used to collect data. Under empirical research, I will be focusing on the
Qualitative research method. Qualitative research provides insights into various aspects of
social life, and generates words as data for analysis. In qualitative research, emphasis is placed
on peoples’ feelings, perceptions, and experiences in order to explore and understand “the
meaning individuals or groups ascribe to a social or human problem.”
MAIN TEXT
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HISTORY OF CRICKET AND HOW IT EVOLVED
Experts agree on a certain belief that the game of cricket was invented during the Saxon or the
Norman times by the children living in the Weald, an area of dense woodlands and clearings
in the south-east England. First time the game of cricket is said to be played in 1611 as an adult
sport. In the same year, a dictionary in England defined Cricket as a sport for men. It is even
believed that cricket may have been derived from bowls, in which the batsman had to stop the
bowl from reaching its target by hitting it away.
Cricket in the villages had developed by the middle of the 17th century and by the second half
of the century, first English “county teams” had been formed. “Local Experts” from this village
cricket only were appointed as the earliest professional of the game. For the first time, county
names were used in cricket in 17091.
Cricket came to be seen as a leading sport in London by the first half of the 18th century and
in the south-eastern countries of England. Its spread was quite limited by the constraints of
travel, but it was slowly gaining popularity in other parts of England. The first women’s cricket
game was recorded to be played in 1745.
The first in cricket were written in the year 1774 and in the same year were amended too.
Innovations such as LBW, a 3rd stump- a middle stump and a maximum bat width were added.
These codes, rules and regulations were made by the “Star and the Garter Club” members who
ultimately founded the famous Marylebone Cricket Club at Lord’s in 1787. Since then, MCC
started acting as the custodians of the of the laws of cricket and has made revision in the laws
ever since.
Rolling the ball along the ground was started 1760 sometimes after when the bowlers began
to pitch the ball and in response to that innovation the straight bat replaced the old “Hockey
Stick”. Until the formation of the MCC, Hambledon Club in Hampshire was the focal point of
the game for about thirty years.
Cricket was introduced in the North American continent via the English Colonies as early as
in in 17th century, and in the 18th century it arrived in other parts of the world. It was introduced
1
ICC, History of Cricket,
[Link]
7
into India by the East India Company mariners and in the West Indies by the colonists. It also
came into Australia as early as colonization started there in 1788. It reached New Zealand and
South Africa at the start of 19th century.
This was a game which described a cross between the games of Baseball and Chess. It was a
game which needed five days to complete and mostly ended in a draw.
By the 1760’s, the game has seen a big change in the style of bowling which earlier was
underarm, saw the evolution of over the arm bowling as the main way to deliver the ball.
Some believe that the first ever international cricket match was played Canada and the United
states staged in New York in 1844. Some are of the belief that the first international cricket
match was played between Australia and England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 18772.
Thus began the Ashes, the games longest running saga as the two sides play off every two years
for the fabled urn.
In 1889 South Africa became the third test nation. In the 1900, Cricket made its only ever entry
in the Olympics where England played against France and won.
In 1909, the Imperial Cricket Conference was founded to administrate the game with England,
Australia and South Africa as its founding members. It was renamed as the International Cricket
Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989. It organises world championship
events.
India, the West Indies and the New Zealand became test playing nations before the second
world war. Pakistan also joined later. Towards the end of the 20th century, affiliate countries
like Sri Lanka, earlier called Ceylon, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh also became test cricket
playing nations.
The game saw various crises in the game of Cricket. First one being in the bodyline series of
1932-33 between Australia and England. Due to the genius display of play of Sir Donald
Bradman, England were forced to bowl with a leg side field with short pitched bowling. The
Australians termed it as “Not Cricket” and out of the spirit of the game. The Australians were
so disturbed by it that they wanted to take a political action against it.
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CRICKETLAB, THE HISTORY OF CRICKET
[Link]
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Then in the 1970’s the D’Oliveira Affair blew South Africa from the international cricket stage
for over twenty years, as they refused to receive the England team with the Cape Coloured
Basil D’Oliveira in it3. Its racist policies saw it cast into the wilderness only to return after the
release of Nelson Mandela and the institution of multi-racial cricket.
In the 1960’s and the 1970’s, Cricket saw the inclusion of single innings games with the first
class sides in England played the limited overs games. The change proved to be really popular
and this led to the first ever one-day international game played between Australia and England
in 1971.
In the mid 1970’s an Australian Media Mogul, Kerry Packer, bought up the worlds best
cricketers and set up World Series Cricket, the players played in coloured clothing. Packer took
on the cricket establishment in a legal battle for the right to host and televise games and won.
World Series Cricket went a long way to professionalising the game in the 1970’s and allowing
the players a living wage from their profession.
As the One Day game developed it brought with it some of the innovations from Tennis and
American football, the use of technology to bring better decision making for umpires and to
highlight areas of interest for the TV audience.
Beginning with slow motion replays and specialist camera angles for Umpires, the game now
has space age technology with ‘Stump Cams’,’Hot Spots’ and ‘Hawk Eye’, technology derived
from modern warfare.
Whether technology has improved the decision making of Umpires remains to be seen, there
have been breakdowns in the application of technology and its lack of uniform roll out across
all international games undermines its credibility.
The ICC has 104 members: 12 Full Members that play Test matches and 92 Associate
Members.[2] The ICC is responsible for the organisation and governance of cricket's major
international tournaments, most notably the Cricket World Cup. It also appoints the umpires
and referees that officiate at all sanctioned Test matches, One Day International and Twenty20
Internationals. It promulgates the ICC Code of Conduct, which sets professional standards of
3
CRICKETLAB, THE HISTORY OF CRICKET
[Link]
9
discipline for international cricket,[3] and also co-ordinates action against corruption and
match-fixing through its Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU).
The ICC does not control bilateral fixtures between member countries (which include all Test
matches), it does not govern domestic cricket in member countries, and it does not make the
laws of the game, which remain under the control of the Marylebone Cricket Club.
The International Cricket Council oversees playing conditions, bowling reviews, and other ICC
regulations. The ICC does not have copyright to the Laws of Cricket: only the MCC may
change the Laws, though this is usually done in consultation with the game's global governing
body. The ICC maintains a set of playing conditions for international cricket which make slight
amendments to the Laws.
They also have a "Code of Conduct" to which teams and players in international matches are
required to adhere. Where breaches of this code occur the ICC can apply sanctions, usually
fines. In 2008, the ICC imposed 19 penalties on players4.
MALPRATISE INCIDENTS IN CRICKET AND HOW ICC DEALT
WITH THEM
4
The Guardian, INTERNATIONAL CRICKET COUNCIL, July 2019
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A) HANSJE CRONJE / MOHAMMED AZHARUDDIN MATCH FIXING
SCANDAL
On 7th April 2000, the Delhi police revealed that they have recorded a conversation between
Hansje Cronje and Sanjay Chawla, a representative of the Indian Betting Syndicate, over match
fixing allegations. Three other players including Herschelle Gibbs, Nicky Boje and Pieter
Strydom.
He gave offers to various offers to his fellow cricketers for fixing matches. On 15th June, he
released a statement consisting of his contacts with the bookmakers. In the 1996 test match of
India vs SA, Mohammed Azharuddin introduced Cronje to a bookie.
This way it slowly got revealed that Cronje introduced many cricketers to bookmakers
including veteran player Herschelle Gibbs.
Soon on 28 August of the same year, Herschelle Gibbs was found guilty foe match-fixing and
was suspended for six months from the sport and was fined R60,000. On 11th October, Cronje
was banned from playing or coaching cricket for life5. \
B) IPL SPOT FIXING SAGA 2013
The 2013 IPL spot fixing case came into limelight when the Delhi Police caught three cricketers
Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan on the charges of spot fixing. The three were part
of the Rajasthan Royals team in the IPL 2013. At somewhat same time but in a different case,
Mumbai Police caught Vindu Dara Singh and Chennai Super Kings team principal Gurunath
Meiyappan for betting and having links with bookies.
Due to this controversy only, N Srinivas, the head of the BCCI at the point of time had to step
down as Meiyappan was his son-in-law. Justice Lodha committee was set by the Supreme court
which later gave verdict to suspend the teams Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals were
banned for 2 years. The ICC also supported the move by BCCI. BCCI even asked ICC for
recommendations for further strengthening the anti-corruption protocols for the IPL. But ICC
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Robinson, Cronje remains an outcast, 17 oct 2001
11
could not take direct action because IPL’s jurisdiction is not under the direct control of ICC as
it is just a domestic league.
C) PAKISTAN CRICKET SPOT-FIXING SCANDAL
The Pakistan spot fixing scandal was one concerning certain members of Pakistan’s national
cricket team who were convicted of taking bribes from a bookmaker to deliberately
underperform at a match at Lord’s, London in 2010.
Prominent players like Salman Butt, Mohammed Asif and Mohammed Amir were each named
in this case of spot fixing. ICC banned all three players for a period of 10 years. All the three
players maintained their innocence of the charges levelled against them, but were suspended
pending an investigation by the International Cricket Council, which determined that they "had
an arguable case to answer", on 4 September 2010.
D) JOHN THE BOOKMAKER CONTROVERSY
John was the name of an Indian bookmaker who in 1994-1995 gave money to Australian
cricketers Mark Waugh and Shane Warne, in return for pitch and weather information.
The players when confronted, refused to divulge more-strategic material, such as team tactics
and player selection policies. The Australian cricket board concluded that it would be sufficient
to fine the players privately but as these players only had earlier accused Pakistan team captain
Saleem Malik of attempting to bribe them, this could have damaged their credibility. So they
reported the matter to ICC and the matter ended there.
E) FAF DUPLESS’IS BALL TAMPERING INCIDENT
South African skipper Faf du Plessis was found guilty of tampering the ball with mints to
change the condition of the ball by International Cricket Council in the Adelaide day-night
test.
The Proteas skipper was charged with ‘ changing the conditions of the ball in breach of law
42.3 ’ by the ICC CEO Dave Richardson6. Du Plessis was found guilty and was fined 100
percent.
6
Dave Middleton, Du Plessis guilty of ball tampering: ICC, 22 November 2016
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MOST DEPLORABLE MALPRACTISE INCIDENT IN CRICKET
The 2018 Australian ball tampering scandal or also popularly known as the Sandpaper scandal,
was a cricket scandal associated with the Australian men’s team. In the march of 2018, in the
third test match of the series against South Africa at Cape Town, Cameron Bancroft was caught
by television cameras trying to rough up one side of the ball to make it swing in the air more
with the help of Sandpaper.
Captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner were also found to be involved in this
because of which all three received unprecedented sanctions from the Cricket Australia. Even
the Australian coach Darren Lehman announced that he will step down from his role following
the scandal.
Captain and Vice-Captain Steve Smith and David Warner respectively were banned from the
international and domestic cricket arena by the International Cricket Council and the Cricket
Australia for a period of 12 months over the incident.
Cameron Bancroft, who was the real culprit who tampered the ball under the influence of the
Captain and the Vice-Captain. He was given a punishment in the form a ban for 9 months from
International and Domestic cricket.
Steve Smith and David Warner were also left out of the cash rich Indian Premiere League
(IPL), where they both lost contracts worth 2 million dollars each7.
The chief executive of the ICC, Dave Richardson, addressed a news conference on 27 April
2018 about harsher punishments for ball-tampering and other misbehaviour.
LAWS OF CRICKET
7
FirstCricket Staff, Australia ball-tampering scandal: Events that led to bans for Steve Smith, David
Warner, and Justin Langer replacing Darren Lehmann, May 03, 2018
13
The laws of cricket are the codes specifying the rules of cricket worldwide. The earliest known
rules were drafted in 1744 and since 1788, they are being maintained by their custodian
Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in London.
There are currently 42 coded laws which tell about all aspects of the game in sense of how it is
to be played. MCC has revised the codes seven times till now and the latest code was released
in October 2017. These codes define what is fair and unfair play.
ICC’S CODE OF CONDUCT
The ICC Code of Conduct is part of the ICC’s continuing efforts to maintain the public image,
popularity and integrity of cricket by providing: (a) an effective means to deter any participant
from conducting themselves improperly on and off the ‘field-of-play’ or in a manner that is
contrary to the ‘spirit of cricket’; and (b) a robust disciplinary procedure pursuant to which all
matters of improper conduct can be dealt with fairly, with certainty and in an expeditious
manner8.
CONCLUSION
8
ICC, RULES AND REGULATIONS
[Link]/about/cricket/rules-and-regulations/code-of-conduct
14
Corruption in any aspect of life is caused by human weakness, greed and opportunity. In this
section of the report I set out my analysis of when and how corruption developed in cricket. I
describe the extent and causes of the problem and finally my concern that, although progress
has been made, corruption still occurs. that the seeds of corruption in cricket were sown in the
1970s when county and club games in domestic tournaments, in England and other countries
were allegedly fixed by teams to secure points and league positions. Players were not bribed
with money but relied on mutual interest. If a match was of vital importance to one team and
not to the other then an accommodation would be reached between the teams as to who would
win. Similar arrangements would be made to secure bowling and batting points, if applicable.
The movement of players around the world gave players from a number of countries experience
of these 'friendly' fixed matches. As a result, in a number of matches the ethic of winning or
losing on merit was replaced by a pragmatic arrangement to divide the points and/or agree in
advance who would win.
To conclude this section, I will comment on the role of the International Cricket Council.
With the benefit of knowledge now in the public domain, a compelling case is made that the
ICC and the individual cricket boards could and should have done more to deal with the
problem of corruption at an earlier stage. It is important to understand why those who have run
cricket nationally and internationally failed to get to grips with the problem. Until the most
recent contracts linked to the TV rights for the ICC tournaments, including the 2003 and 2007
World Cups, the ICC did not have the financial security or the collective will from the
constituent boards to provide an adequate infrastructure of administration and control.
Consequently, the ICC has not had and still does not have the staff or systems in place to enable
the proper governance, leadership or supervision of world cricket. For almost half of its history
the ICC was a loose and fragile alliance with a small central administration based at Lords, in
London with limited budgets and limited powers. Naivety and no clear mandate to deal with
corruption exacerbated the problem. Also the ICC staff at Lords missed opportunities to
encourage more robust action to deal with the challenge. Although the Executive Board of the
ICC has proposals for developing the ICC administration it does not yet provide an
infrastructure to meet the financial and governance requirements of the modern game. The
current President of the ICC has encouraged change and given strong support to the Anti
Corruption Unit which has been fully operational since September 2000. It is disappointing but
15
not surprising that until very recently the ICC, at the centre, was in very poor shape to respond
to the disparate strands of corruption as they emerged around the world. The individual cricket
boards and member countries of the ICC responded to the emerging problem of corruption with
a patchwork of criminal, judicial, disciplinary and informal measures. The history of these
investigations is set out at appendix B. No single inquiry had the jurisdiction to investigate
beyond its own country, players and officials. Nevertheless, a disturbing picture gradually
emerged of the extent of corruption and opportunities were missed to share information and
concerns. Firm action has been taken in some cases. However, the resolute action by some has
been diluted by others who have procrastinated and missed opportunities to deal with the
problem. National pride and embarrassment have certainly hindered a more collaborative and
coordinated approach to dealing with the problem. In some cases the perception is given that
allegedly corrupt players have been tolerated because of their importance to national sides. This
ambivalence to facing up to the challenge of corruption remains a real threat to the integrity of
the effort to clean up the game. So, by keeping the research questions in mind and taking
account of the information given, it can be said that the hypothesis holds true in sense that ICC,
at the moment, is trying its best to curb Malpractices in cricket and is punishing the ones
committing it.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Earlier in this report, I described the history of corruption in cricket and the reasons why it has
flourished. I also reported that I believe occurrence and match fixing are still taking place. In
this section of the report I set out a number of interlinked recommendations which, if
implemented, will give the ICC and the national cricket boards a much stronger ability to deal
with the challenge which still has the potential to undermine confidence in world cricket.
EDUCATION AND AWARENESS
The ICC should develop and implement a comprehensive training and awareness programme
designed to raise awareness of the risks of corruption in cricket and the methods used to entice
players and others into malpractice. It should also emphasise the resolve of the ICC to deal
with the problem and to punish wrongdoers. An education programme will only be effective if
it is professional, embraces all member countries and is ongoing. Whilst respecting national,
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cultural and religious differences, the ICC should produce training material that can be utilised
in all the member countries with a consistent and enduring series of messages. The training and
awareness programme should target all international players, umpires and other relevant people
in cricket. It should include all representative national teams from the youngest age group
upwards.
SECURITY AND CONTROL
Corruptors have gained access to players and others with consummate ease. The absence of
even the most basic regime of accreditation on tours has allowed undesirable people to mix
freely with players and has provided the breeding ground for improper approaches and
corruption. A balance must be struck between the needs for privacy, a social life and the
ambassadorial role of players on the one hand and on the other the need to create a viable
regime of security and control9. Consultation should take place and notice taken of the good
practice which is being developed in some countries.
PREVENTION AND INVESTIGATION OF MALPRACTISES
The ICC must accept that anti-corruption and security measures are a necessary and long term
requirement to be funded by the ICC10. The ICC should review its awareness and policies in
relation to unlawful use by players of performance enhancing drugs or other unlawful use of
drugs and issue guidelines and advice.
THE FUTURE OF THE ICC
Large sums of money are now generated by the commercial activities of the individual boards
and the ICC centrally. As a result, a strong case is made for a more coordinated and regulatory
approach by the ICC. There is also a need to develop the corporate governance of the ICC to
match the significant sums of money now available to develop world cricket. The ICC will be
in a stronger position if it continues to evolve from its origins as a loose and fragile alliance
into a modern regulatory body whose role is clarified and whose transactions are more
transparent and accountable. . The understandable and legitimate aspiration to minimise tax
obligations and the need to preserve commercial confidentiality in business transactions should
not be allowed to reach the point where the ICC can be portrayed as a secretive and opaque
9
Lawinsport, International Cricket Council, 15 May 2018
10
Lord Woolf and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, An independent governance review of the
International Cricket Council, 1 February 2012
17
organisation. The ICC must become more open, transparent and accountable. Consideration
should be given to the publication of an annual report by the President and Chief Executive11.
It should review the past year and signpost future activity. Without breaching commercial
confidentiality it should detail how the ICC is using its considerable financial resources to
develop world cricket.
The ICC is at a critical point of evolution. I encourage it to build on recent developments and
implement the programme of change set out in the recommendations in this report.
11
Lord Woolf and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, An independent governance review of the
International Cricket Council, 1 February 2012
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
A) PRIMARY SOURCES
1. ICC-Cricket, ICC Playing Handbook 2018-19
2. ICC, RULES AND REGULATIONS
[Link]/about/cricket/rules-and-regulations/code-of-conduct
3. ICC, History of Cricket,
[Link]
B) SECONDARY SOURCES
1. Lord Woolf and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, An independent governance
review of the International Cricket Council, 1 February 2012.
C) WEBLIOGRAPHY
1. Lawinsport, International Cricket Council, 15 May 2018
2. FirstCricket Staff, Australia ball-tampering scandal: Events that led to bans for
Steve Smith, David Warner, and Justin Langer replacing Darren Lehmann, May
03, 2018
3. Dave Middleton, Du Plessis guilty of ball tampering: ICC, 22 November 2016
4. The Guardian, INTERNATIONAL CRICKET COUNCIL, July 2019
5. CRICKETLAB, THE HISTORY OF CRICKET
[Link]
6. Robinson, Cronje remains an outcast, 17 oct 2001
19
