And here come the match-fixing rumours

Jayawardene accused of fixing in Pakistan match.

COLOMBO: The match-fixing menace has raised its ugly head at the World Cup after Sri Lanka vice-captain Mahela Jayawardene and batsman Thilan Samaraweera were accused of accepting bribes in exchange for poor performance against Pakistan.

A state TV channel claimed Jayawardene deliberately threw his wicket after being offered money by a private businessman. The vice captain was clean bowled by paceman Shoaib Akhtar for two while Samaraweera lost his wicket for one run only as the hosts went down by 11 runs.

Jayawardene said he was considering taking legal action against the channel for the accusations. “My lawyer is looking into the claims and we will decide whether to take any legal action or not after it,” said Jayawardene.

The International Cricket Council (ICC), meanwhile, has maintained its silence on the issue with its spokesman refusing to make any statement.

Haddin rubbishes ‘laughable’ spot-fix claim

Australia has dismissed “laughable” claims that the ICC was investigating their match against Zimbabwe for slow batting.

“It’s quite a laughable story, it’s a joke,” said Brad Haddin who, with Shane Watson, made sedate progress against Zimbabwe’s spinners early in their innings, reaching 28 off the first 11 overs.

The pair eventually added 61 in 18.4 overs as Australia made 262 for six, with Haddin scoring 29 off 66 balls before falling leg-before to Prosper Utseya.

“It’s not a case [of match-fixing], we just got off the mark a bit slowly.”

(WITH ADDITIONAL REPORTING FROM AFP)

Published in The Express Tribune, March 2^nd, 2011.