Time the ICC faced the truth at their Clock Tower address

Those subscribers to the theory there is no place for politics in sport are going to view the decision of the International Cricket Council over the next two days to investigate itself with more than just a touch of skepticism.

After all, if you listen to some arguments, there is no need for the ICC to cajole itself into action over a matter which had been investigated in Pakistan and India, Australia had punished those responsible, Sri Lanka had come "clean" on approaches to their players and South Africa was to have a government-sponsored probe of the Cronjegate scandal.

Yet investigating themselves they are, and at an address called The Clock Tower, which suggests Father Time might not be as quite on their side.

As South Africa's department of justice are in the next 48 hours expected to release the name of the judge to handle the Cronjegate probe and India are setting up the terms of reference to investigate their own backdoorstep mess, there are serious questions being asked how impartial will be ICC's probe of itself?

This emerged after media revelations at the weekend stating that Sri Lanka's current captain, Sanath Jayasuriya, along with two others had been approached by Indian bookmakers contact as early as 1992 during Australia's tour of the island.

Others implicated are Roshan Mahanama and Asanka Gurusinha although the names of another two, said to be former Test players, are reportedly known to a close clique of past and present BCCSL officials, including former board president Tyronne Fernando. Jayasuriya, Mahanama and Gurusinha are said to have reported the incidents to the board at the time but Fernando, now a member of the opposition party, has admitted with a certain embarrassment that no decision was taken.

The likely outcome on Wednesday from the two days of discussion at Lord's is the ICC setting up their own commission of inquiry into a wide range of alleged activities, ranging from spread betting and passing on information of weather and likely pitch conditions along with forecasting possible teams, the form of players as well as the batting order.

There appears to be agreement that the ICC cannot afford to sweep away such a dirt matter from their Clock Tower address doorstep, as they would have done with this past winter's slush. If they are honest in their efforts to clean up the mess it is going to mean more than a tightening of players contracts among all nine ICC full member countries.

Setting up their own commission to probe the wide-range of allegations needs outsiders: independent judges who would work without fear and appointed by either the ICC's firm of lawyers or accountants. South Africa's Judge Arthur Goldstone is one whose international reputation is about as inculpable as you would find among today's judiciary; other countries no doubt have their own fearless judicial contributors designed to lance the festering carbuncle and clean out the mess.

The next two days meeting, is acknowledged as the most important in more than 11 years. In January 1989 the ICC, then a sporting conclave of seven members met at Lord's and drew up a resolution which effectively banned any player who had links with South Africa from international competition. The ban led to the Mike Gatting tour in January and February 1990.

Hours after the announcement that the demo-riddled tour had been aborted and the Cape Town and Port Elizabeth legs, abandoned Gatting met John Woodcock at the Wanderers as the venerated writer from The Times arrived in the country from Australia where he had been covering a more peaceful Pakistan tour.

"Hello, Wooders, good timing," Gatting said smiling, sitting down in the shade of the trees at the rugby ground which also doubled as a net practice facility for what were then Transvaal's cricketers and Gatt's own crowd.

"It has been an interesting experience to say the least... Some sections of the Press..." he cast an eye in the direction of two of us... "have been really awful which has made it doubly difficult and I am disappointed we won't get to play another `Test'.

"I really hope though some good can come out of this. I thinks that just by being here we have forced people to face the issues and talk to each other..."

Hopefully the meeting at The Clock Tower over the next two days has a similar cleansing result.