Ex-Essex cricketer Westfield pleads guilty to spot-fixing

[BERGKAMP]

Looks like the guilty PAKs may get a new mate in jail. :nervous: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-16527008

Ex-Essex cricketer Mervyn Westfield admits spot betting charge A former Essex county cricketer has admitted a corruption charge over spot fixing relating to a 40-over one-day game against Durham. Mervyn Westfield, 23, admitted accepting or obtaining a corrupt payment to aid betting at a game on 5 September 2009. The Old Bailey heard he had agreed to bowl his first over in a way that would let Durham score a set number of runs. Westfield was warned he could face jail when he is sentenced in February. The offence carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. 'ŽÂ£6,000 offered' He was granted unconditional bail until sentencing on 10 February. A separate charge of assisting another person to cheat at gambling was ordered to lie on file. Judge Anthony Morris told the court he understood that Westfield had agreed to concede 12 runs in exchange for ŽÂ£6,000 but only 10 runs were in fact conceded during the first over. The judge also said that the alleged corruptor of Westfield was a person known by people involved in cricket. Westfield is the first domestic cricketer in recent years to be convicted of corruption charges relating to the sport. It follows the jailing of three Pakistani cricketers and an agent last year over spot fixing during a Test Match between England and Pakistan.

[adi B]

pakis say :hello:

[rkt.india]

Ex-Essex cricketer Westfield pleads guilty to spot-fixing http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/current/story/549087.html Mervyn Westfield, the former Essex bowler, has become the first English cricketer to be convicted of spot-fixing after pleading guilty at the Old Bailey to criminal charges arising from a spot-fixing investigation by Essex police. He will be sentenced on February 10. Westfield admitted he accepted Ž£6,000 to concede 12 runs in his first over of Essex's Pro40 tie against Durham at Chester-le-Street in September 2009. The match was televised live and available in India, the centre of cricket's illegal gambling industry. Having pleaded guilty to accepting or obtaining corrupt payments under the 1906 Corruption Act, Judge Anthony Morris warned Westfield he could face a jail sentence up to a maximum of seven years. A separate charge of assisting another person to cheat at gambling was ordered to lie on file. Westfield conceded 60 runs from seven overs, bowling four wides and two no balls, after agreeing to concede a set number of runs in return for payment. Nasser Hussain, the former England and Essex captain, called for "an appropriate ban" and for Westfield to be used prominently in an education process for young professional cricketers. "We have to be tough on spot-fixers to send a message to future generations," Hussain told Sky Sports. "He was a 21-year-old and he made a mistake. I don't think you can take the game of cricket away from the rest of his life. Use him as an example, make a video or something, to make sure that cricketers don't make the same mistake he did."

[Laaloo]

Serani :hmmm:

[ganeshran]

Serani :hmmm:

:cantstop:

[Crookbond]

Sarcasm alert! English fans : We don't care about the shorter format (spot-fixing) of the game. We want to be the best in the longer format (match-fixing).

[Cricket Tragic]

Kaneria got away.