November 06 Wednesday 2002
New ODI rankings designed as anti-corruption measure

LONDON: The International Cricket Council's introduction of a championship for One-Day Internationals last week was the latest part of its campaign to erase corruption from the sport.

Under the former system, if a team won first four of a seven-match series, the final three games had little relevance. By making each contest part of an international ranking, it may remove temptation for some players to perform badly in return for money.

Lord Condon, director of ICC's Anti-Corruption Unit, has been pushing for such a championship for past 18 months. Five international cricketers have received life bans for their involvement in rigging matches since May 2000, when Condon took up his post.

"All matches will have equal value," ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed said in an interview. "Hopefully that addresses the issue that Lord Condon was concerned about."

The sport's authorities have recently introduced several measures to root out corruption, from limiting a player's use of his mobile phone to tightening security around team hotels. In his first interim report published in April 2001, under sub-heading `Why has corruption developed in cricket?' Condon warned of prevalence of one-day internationals.

With about 120 such matches a year, "nothing is really at stake in terms of national pride or selection in some of these matches," Condon said at the time.

The first match under new format takes place Wednesday, when India play the West Indies. Australia currently lead the new standings, and Test championship which was introduced in July 2001.