The ongoing match fixing scandal in South African cricket is threatening to severely tarnish the game's image.
This comes after recent media reports indicated that the “intermediary” in the ongoing Ram Slam T20 match-fixing case is a former Proteas cricketer.
In mid-December last year, Cricket South Africa (CSA) confirmed that its Anti-Corruption and Security Unit had charged a perpetrator - operating as an intermediary - under its Anti-Corruption Code for contriving to "fix, or otherwise improperly influence aspects of last year's tournament".
In addition, the "intermediary" was also charged with failing or refusing to co-operate with the investigation.
The player has since been contacted by a local newspaper but refrained to comment when confronted by the matter.
According to Netwerk24, the player is a former batsman of the national side. When contacted and confronted, he responded with: “No, no, no” before putting the phone down.
The Ram Slam tournament, which ran between November 1 and December 12, 2015, was won by the Titans who beat the Dolphins by seven wickets in a one-sided final at SuperSport Park in Centurion.
In addition, a legal case is being prepared against a number of domestic players for corruption during this season's tournament. Other players are expected to be charged with the lesser crime of "failure to report" suspicious or illegal activity. Sadly, the revelations will no doubt reopen the wounds of Hansie-gate in 2000 when former Proteas skipper Hansie Cronje was convicted of dealing with illegal bookmakers.
Cronje, who was banned from cricket for life due to his role in the match-fixing scandal, died in a plane crash on June 1, 2002.
Meanwhile, Dolphins captain Morne van Wyk told the Cape Times that the scandal is a "sad and dark day for the game", and feels that it could be far worse than Hansie-gate.
Van Wyk, who has represented the Proteas as a wicketkeeper/batsman, called on CSA to move quickly to bring the guilty parties to book.
Source: News24
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