World cricket's governing body are to launch an inquiry into a wave of damaging match-fixing and betting allegations.
International Cricket Council president Jagmohan Dalmiya said the situation had reached a point where the ICC could no longer ignore the effects of the claims.
The ICC move follows recent confessions by Australians Shane Warne and Mark Waugh that they took money from a bookmaker for providing information on weather and pitches during a tour of Sri Lanka in 1994. Australian cricket authorities admitted they had covered up the incident.
Both Warne and Waugh had previously accused former Pakistan captain Salim Malik of offering them bribes during the Australian team's tour of Pakistan in 1994. England admitted yesterday that Adam Hollioake was a target for illegal bookmakers bidding to pull off a bets coup at the Champions' Cup in Sharjah a year ago.
Hollioake, who led England to victory in the two-week tournament, claims he was contacted twice by illegal bookmakers wanting information about weather, pitch conditions, team line-ups and tactics during the two-week tournament. However, the Surrey all-rounder refused to co-operate. Earlier this year Indian cricketer Manoj Prabhakar accused his team-mates of match-fixing, although an independent probe later cleared the players.
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