November 13 Wednesday 2002
Lara cleared of match-fixing allegations

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad: Brian Lara has been cleared of match-fixing allegations in a report by an investigative committee, the West Indies Cricket Board announced on Monday.

The board had appointed the committee to investigate an Indian bookmaker's claims he had paid Lara about US$20,000 to underperform in two one-day matches between India and the West Indies in 1994.

"The board has looked at all the reports and we are pleased to announce that Brian Lara has been cleared of all match-fixing charges brought against him," cricket board president Wes Hall said at a news conference in Trinidad.

Hall said information from the investigation was forwarded to Lara's lawyers and a commission with responsibility for the code of conduct at the International Cricket Council.

The claims were made in a November 2000 report on match-fixing released by India's Central Bureau of Investigation. Lara, who is from Trinidad, was the only West Indian player under investigation following the Indian report, which led to life bans for former Indian captain Muhammad Azharuddin and batsman Ajay Sharma. Hall also said the board had decided to discipline three players -- Runako Morton, Suliemann Benn and Tonito Best -- following a report by a disciplinary committee that they violated the West Indies' code of conduct.

Hall said he would wait until the players had received letters specifying their punishment before giving more details. Regional cricket officials have said Morton left early from this year's tour of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, saying he had to return for his grandmother's funeral.

But officials later said they determined his grandmother had died several years earlier and that Morton merely was seeking an excuse to leave early. Benn and Best, both of Barbados, were facing punishment following allegations of improper behavior during tours of Britain and Canada this year.

Benn was involved in a confrontation with an English player on the field, and coaches later criticized some players for poor discipline during the tours. Meanwhile, Hall said the board expected that Lara, who was briefly hospitalized in Sri Lanka in September, is recovering and should be playing again soon.

Team officials initially said Lara likely was suffering from hepatitis. West Indies Cricket Board officials have yet to confirm that, and officials have declined to comment on his condition recently. "It is our understanding that Lara is well on the road to recovery, and we are fully behind him and feel confident he will return to full fitness and be back playing again shortly," Hall said.