Match Fixing

 

Spot-fixing: the basics

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• What is spot-fixing? 
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• Spot fixing is about getting players/officials to act in a specified predefined manner at a particular time or during a particular session of a match, with or without adversely affecting the overall outcome of the game. It is also known as micro-fixing or fancy-fixing.
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• What kinds of events does spot-fixing target?
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• Anything from the ordinary to the bizarre can be the focus of spot-fixing. Who will win the toss, which umpire will stand at which end of the wicket, how many players will be wearing sunglasses, how many times the wicketkeeper will take the bails off in an innings, which bowler will come on first change, when the new ball will be taken. All of these and any number of other similar (and at times very silly) aspects can become the subject matter of both legal and illegal bets. If a fixer has prior information relating to a predetermined occurrence during a specific period or session of a match, he can make a killing and happily share a part of the booty with the player/official who is his accomplice.
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• What is session betting? 
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• Each innings of 50 overs in an ODI is divided into three sessions of 15, 15 and 20 overs each. For each session, bets are accepted on permutations and combinations involving runs scored and wickets taken, and more marginal aspects along the lines of those mentioned above, such as, for instance, how many wide balls will be bowled in a particular session. In recent times both legal and illegal bookkeepers have started offering odds on session betting. Thus the number of options for betting in a six-session ODI are multiplied many times - as opposed to just betting on the outcomes at the end of the match.
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• What kind of inside information do bookies look for to help with spot-fixing?
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• Bookies and punters are always looking for inside information, especially information emanating from dressing rooms: the condition of the pitch, the team composition, who will open the batting, injuries - anything that may impact a specific session of the match or events within, or the final outcome. The players in their innocence or ignorance, or in connivance, may share such inside information.

Below are a list of Test and or One Day International cricketers who have been banned for match fixing in the past

	Player	National team	Length of ban	Details
1	Saleem Malik	Pakistan	Life ban (Overturned in 2008)	Banned in 2000 for offering bribes
2	Ata-ur-Rehman	Pakistan	Life ban (Overturned in 2006)	Banned in 2000 for dealings with bookmakers
3	Mohammad Azharuddin	India	Life ban	Declared guilty as per the BCCI. He rejects this and have taken the matter to court where it is currently sub-judice.
4	Ajay Sharma	India	Life ban	Found guilty in 2000 for associating with bookmakers
5	Manoj Prabhakar	India	5 year ban	In 2000 he tried to implicate Kapil Dev and others but it backfired as he was found guilty himself
6	Ajay Jadeja	India	5 year ban (Overturned in 2003)	Alleged to have associated with bookmakers
7	Hansie Cronje	South Africa	Life ban	Guilty of accepting monetary rewards from bookmakers to fix the results of games
8	Herschelle Gibbs	South Africa	6 months	Initially agreed to underperform in an ODI game at Nagpur, but reneged on the deal and scored 74 off just 53 balls
9	Henry Williams	South Africa	6 months	Initially agreed to underperform in an ODI game at Nagpur
10	Maurice Odumbe	Kenya	5 years	Receiving money from bookmakers
11	Marlon Samuels	West Indies	2 years	Receiving money, benefit or other reward which could bring him or the game into disrepute