Sri Lanka v West Indies: Islanders probe bid to fix Test

Sports ministry claims Perera, Herath were offered money to engineer batting collapse

COLOMBO: Sri Lankan authorities are investigating a bid to bribe members of the national cricket team to under-perform in a recent Test to ensure a surprise victory for the West Indies, said the government on Friday.

Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekera said a man linked to a bookmaker had offered wicketkeeper Kusal Perera and star bowler Rangana Herath tens of thousands of dollars to engineer a Sri Lankan batting collapse at a Test in Galle in October, which the hosts went on to win emphatically.

“They wanted Sri Lanka to get out early for a very low score. This is a match Sri Lanka was expected to win, but if they lost, the bookie would have made a lot of money,” Jayasekera told AFP.



The minister said around $70,000 had been offered to the players to lose the match. Police had mounted a search for the suspect who was said to have approached the two players.

“After Kusal turned down the offer, the man approached Herath who also rejected the offer and alerted the authorities,” he said.

“We have started a police inquiry in addition to an anti-corruption probe by Sri Lanka Cricket,” Jayasekera added, in reference to the national cricket board.



Jayasekera also suggested that Perera’s recent failure in a doping test during the ongoing tour of New Zealand may have been linked to his raising the alarm over the match-fixing attempt.

“It is possible that something was slipped into his food or his urine sample was tampered with to get this result,” said Jayasekera of Perera, who was sent back to Sri Lanka after failing the doping test. “We are doing our best to defend him,” added the minister.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 19^th, 2015.

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