Australian players unhappy with undercover plan

The Australian Cricketers' Association believes a plan being considered by the ICC to use undercover agents posing as illegal bookmakers to "entrap" players is neither "reasonable" or "lawful". Paul Marsh, the ACA's chief executive, said the idea, which could be employed to help the fight against anti-corruption, had not been discussed with the ACA or the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations.

"At this stage it's unclear to the ACA and FICA whether the proposal is designed to focus on catching and punishing players for not reporting approaches by illegal bookmakers or catching those directly involved in match-fixing," Marsh said. "As such we are in the process of seeking clarity from the ICC as to their intentions. If the proposal is focused on the former, then we believe the ICC needs to improve its current reporting and confidentiality processes before players should be entrapped and sanctioned for not reporting approaches."

Marsh said the ACA had "significant concerns" that players who have told the relevant authorities about approaches from illegal bookmakers were named publicly. Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, Shane Watson and Brad Haddin were targeted during the 2009 Ashes tour and their identities were revealed this year.

"This has caused many of them to have concerns for their safety and wellbeing, as well as being a distraction to their cricket," Marsh said. "In this way, the lack of confidentiality and trust in the process is actually a disincentive to report an approach."

The issue of match- and spot-fixing has re-emerged in the aftermath of the Lord's Test between Pakistan and England in August. Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammed Amir are currently suspended pending their hearing in Dubai at the end of the month.

Marsh said the ACA would be prepared to discuss reasonable proposals with the ICC and Cricket Australia if they were focused on catching match-fixers. "We all share the common goal of keeping corruption out of the game," he said. "However in saying this we're not convinced at this stage that a plan to effectively entrap players is either reasonable or lawful."

Marsh said it would be better if the ICC established player associations in India, Pakistan and Zimbabwe, which currently don't have union representation. "This will provide greater education and specialist advice," he said, "as well as help create a culture of accountability."

Other suggestions by Marsh included using player associations as a point of contact for reports, introducing an international agent accreditation scheme, and ensuring the game is administered by "skilled and respected professionals who are free of conflicts of interest". Marsh said: "The ACA stands alongside FICA in urging the ICC to consider these recommendations as a more urgent priority than appointing undercover agents acting as illegal bookmakers."