WI players learn to avoid corruption

This area of concern forms part of a seminar to be held today when the squads from six territorial teams assemble in Barbados for the President’s Cup regional one-day tournament.

Zorol Barthley, the chief cricket operations officer of the WICB, said the board was following the lead taken by the International Cricket Council in its fight to stamp out illegal betting and corruption in cricket.

Barthley said it has been discovered that teenage players were most vulnerable to those attempting to engage in illegal activity.

"The ICC has an anti-corruption unit that basically goes around the world identifying any potential problems when it comes to gambling on cricket and that kind of stuff," Barthley said. "A lot of work goes on from that department and what they have found is that the guys who are running this (scheme) of betting on cricket are trying to take the players at a young age."

He continued "So these guys will show at Under-19 tournaments like the ICC Youth World Cup. They come in varying forms. It could be casual conversations appearing to be friendships, like taking a (player) out for dinner and when he thinks he has a trusted friend he’s bought for life."

"So when they become international stars and they think they have a friend they are really dealing with someone who’s trying to corrupt the game.

"We (WICB) are trying to educate these players early so when they get to the next level they would have already known the pitfalls. We are just trying to prepare and help them along the way. Barthley said."