Cricket: Essex deny wrongdoing over Westfield

LONDON: English county Essex insisted they had taken correct action in the case of convicted former seamer Mervyn Westfield following court room accusations they had ‘turned a blind eye’. In February, Westfield became the first county cricketer in England to be prosecuted for spot-fixing and was jailed for four months. It was claimed he was ‘targeted’ by teammate and Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria, whom the court was told set up the deal. During sentencing, lawyer Mark Milliken-Smith told the court Essex players and coaches ‘turned a blind eye’ to corruption as he tried to seek a more lenient jail term for Westfield. However, Essex refuted such claims. “Essex wish to make it clear that the players and management involved in the reporting of suspicions, took the correct action in reporting those reservations,” read a statement issued by the county.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 4^th, 2012.