Ricky Ponting demands swift action against corrupt players

Ricky Ponting

Expressing his fears over the match-fixing cloud surrounding the game of cricket, former Australian captain Ricky Ponting has urged the governing bodies to act swiftly inorder to make sure that the integrity of the game is maintained. The 39-year-old believes that there can be nothing worse that can happen to the game than the doubts hovering over the legitimacy of what happens on the field, which is the case now.

Former New Zealand cricketer Lou Vincent, after having admitted to his involvement in fixing back in Decemeber last year, lifted the lid on the issues surrounding cricket leagues all over the world. It is believed that he has also dragged a couple of his Kiwi teammates’ names during the interrogation by the ICC anti-corruption unit.

Ponting said: "We've all been aware of a certain amount of corruption in the game for a long time now and there's always just been a bit of smoke, there hasn't been much fire around it.

"But like a lot of other big issues in our games, whether it's drugs or whatever, the sooner the governing bodies can get to the bottom of these issues and actually start making an example of some of the people they know are in the wrong and they know are guilty, the better off we're all going to be.

"There is nothing worse than having that (corruption) tag around, the worry about the integrity of cricket and that is what every governing body would be fearing and a lot of the players. It takes away a bit from the game they love."

Ponting isn’t concerned about Australian players being a part of it, as he believes that they have all along been paid well. He said: "I have no worries at all. Certainly anyone that I've played with in Australian or Tasmanian teams, I can't see how it will impact on any of us -- who I know, anyway."

"Probably where we're a bit different to the other countries ... is we're very well-paid in Australia for what we do. It seems to me, a lot of the targets, if you like, are guys who probably haven't been paid that well during their careers."