Tim May rejects Condon's fixing claims

Melbourne: International Players Union boss Tim May, has called on former anti-corruption chief Lord Condon to prove claims that "every international team" manipulated cricket match results at some stage in the late 1990s.

Lord Condon, who set up the International Cricket Council's anti-corruption unit in 2001 and chaired it for a decade, told London's Evening Standard newspaper this week that "every international team, at some stage, had someone doing some funny stuff."

May reacted angrily on Friday, calling on Lord Condon to provide evidence or withdraw his allegation. The Australian told reporters "player associations are getting sick and tired of people coming out making these general accusations, the effect of which cast doubts over the entire player base."

Lord Condon, who set up the International Cricket Council's anti-corrpution unit in 2000 and chaired it for a decade, told London's Evening Standard newspaper this week "every international team, at some stage, had someone doing some funny stuff."

May reacted angrily on Friday, calling on Lord Condon to provide evidence or withdraw his allegation. He told reporters "player associations are getting sick and tired of people coming out making these general accusations, the effect of which cast doubts over the entire player base."

"You have to ask the question if the ICC knew such facts and had such information, why was there no retrospective action taken by the ICC or the individual Boards?" May said.

He said Lord Condon had tarred the reputations of a whole generation of cricketers in the late 1990s by saying "when they look back on their careers, a bit of shame must creep in."

May said "to suggest that a whole generation of cricketers knew what was going on is clearly without any foundation."

"I can readily agree with (Lord Condon) in one regard — his belief that players should be more closely involved by the ICC in the search for solutions."

Pakistan players Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif were jailed at London's Southwark Crown Court earlier this month for their part in fixing elements of the August 2010 test match against England at Lord's.