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One team has been suspended from a T10 league pending an anti-corruption investigation after concerns over suspicious behavior were considered to drop one of their matches at the end of the innings.
Limassol Gladiators, one of the five teams in the European Cricket Series Cyprus, has been suspended following their match against Amdocs on July 21. At least one major betting company refuses to pay on the game, which was broadcast on various platforms around the world.
Up to $ 2million is believed to have been traded on the game on Betfair alone. When other markets – legal and illegal – are included, this figure could multiply several times.
The suspicions of the ICC’s Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) were first raised by suspicious betting models ahead of the match.
Amdocs (a Cyprus-based telecommunications company) hadn’t won in over a year, but the market clearly had expectations for their success.
While the Amdocs have conceded twice over 100 in recent games, the Gladiators have only managed 79 for 4 of their 10 overs. In response, the Amdocs were 14 for 3 after two overs but benefited from remarkably poor bowling to win in 7.1 overs. One was six wide, one of which went down the side of the legs to the limit.
A trader told ESPNcricinfo, “It was the most egregious, low-key, stupid repair incident I have ever seen.”
The ICC confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that its anti-corruption unit is closely examining the game. In the meantime, Limassol Gladiators will no longer play any role in the competitions of the European cricket network. An insider suggested their records would also be erased, and the tournament schedule redrawn for the remaining teams. There is no indication that Amdocs players were aware of any wrongdoing.
Where these pop up matches are the only cricket being played it’s not a question of maybe corruptors get involved, they will, simple. Sometimes some well known ones. Boards must protect their players and the game with the right education and governance.
— Steve Richardson (@Steve_Rich100) July 14, 2020
Prior to the tournament, Steve Richardson, the ICC ACU coordinator, tweeted that it was incumbent on boards to provide “good education and good governance” to their players, and said that when the minor leagues from short form were the only matches played, “it’s not a question of ‘maybe the corrupters will be involved.’ They will simple.”
The European Cricket Network (ECN), which runs the European Cricket League and various events in the European Cricket Series including the Cyprus T10, announced last month that it had “strengthened its own internal cricket team. Corruption, “which continued to collaborate with the ICC’s ACU.
ECN has yet to comment on the Limassol vs Amdocs game.
