ICC Trophy final not fixed, says New Zealand official

New Zealand cricket operations manager John Reid dismissed on Wednesday suggestions that his team's victory in last year's International Cricket Conference (ICC) Knockout Trophy had been fixed.

Reid, who is currently in London, was responding to the publication of the ICC's Anti-Corruption Unit match-fixing report which said an investigation could be launched into the ICC Knockout Tropy held in Nairobi.

New Zealand won the event, which included all of cricket's test-playing nations, by beating India in the final. It was the New Zealanders' biggest one-day victory.

"I've talked to our coach, David Trist. He's genuinely surprised and disbelieving," Reid told Reuters. "He's of the view there was nothing to suggest there was anything going on.

"He saw the Indian players' faces when they lost and there was good prize money on offer. It's disappointing -- we win something and people cast aspersions."

Reid said the report would remind national cricket boards to take match-fixing seriously and to be "aggressively vigilant" with their players to make sure they were not lured into rigging results.

He added: "We are pro-active with our players, we work with them. It's not just a matter of sending a memo. You must remind them that the game is bigger than any individual. But in the end, no one will control every individual."

Wednesday's report was a response to the match-fixing scandal which erupted last year when former South Africa captain Hansie Cronje admitted taking money from bookmakers.

Mail Cricket Editor