Condon confident of corruption-free World Cup

The head of world cricket's anti-corruption operation has confirmed that the international game is on target for a corruption-free World Cup in 12 months time.

Speaking at a media conference in Sharjah on Friday, Lord Condon, director of the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit, said: "I am very confident that the measures being put in place in South Africa and around the cricket world will ensure that the World Cup will be a tournament played entirely on merit. There will be a sensible but stringent security regime in place, which will act as a major deterrent to would-be corruptors. At the same time it will be as unobtrusive as possible as far as players and spectators are concerned. "

In June last year Lord Condon set a target date of the World Cup in South Africa for corruption to be at an 'irreducible minimum' throughout the international game.

"There is now much greater awareness of the problem among cricket authorities and players. That, combined with the work of the ACU and the series of preventative recommendations accepted by the ICC, have made significant inroads into the problem," he said.

The five full time Security Managers, about to be appointed by the ICC, will also add significantly to the world game's anti-corruption infrastructure. Their role will include attendance at all future international series, with each being responsible for two international teams. This allocation will see Managers paired with West Indies and England, Pakistan and Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka, South Africa and Zimbabwe and Australia and New Zealand. Appointments are likely to be confirmed by the middle of March.

Lord Condon is visiting the United Arab Emirates to meet with leading cricket, security and diplomatic officials. He has also reviewed the new security measures implemented by the Cricketers Benefit Fund Series on the recommendation of the ACU. These include strict controls on access to players' areas at the ground, restrictions on the use of mobile phones, a confidential telephone hotline and CCTV monitoring of dressing room entrances and team hotel lobbies.

"Sharjah has acted swiftly and decisively in acting upon the security recommendations of my Unit. The lessons learned here are making an important contribution for security planning around the World Cup and future Test and One Day International series," added Lord Condon.

The new measures, designed to prevent corruption in an effective but unobtrusive fashion, will be discussed at the next ICC Executive Board meeting in March. Lord Condon regards them as an important part of the long-term solution for ridding the game of cheats and corruptors.

Senior members of the South African based World Cup Security Directorate have also visited the Sharjah stadium in recent months to assist with their planning for next February's tournament. As part of the build up to the event, members of the ACU team are to undertake security audits of venues hosting World Cup matches, during April.

2003 World Cup schedule