Australian fast bowler Ryan Harris says he takes the latest corruption controversy dogging world cricket as a personal insult.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has a long-running investigation into match-fixing and the issue has come to the surface this week amid reports New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum had been approached to fix matches.
The ICC has made it clear that McCullum is not himself under investigation, however, his evidence has been leaked to a UK tabloid and it reveals he was asked to fix by a "world renowned former cricketer" in 2008.
Reports have named former New Zealand star Chris Cairns as that renowned figure, but the ex-allrounder has continued to maintain his innocence, describing allegations as "a complete lie".
Harris said no cricketer plays a Test match thinking they might be playing in a game that's been fixed.
But finding out that corrupt activities are still part of the global game leaves a bitter taste in the mouth.
Harris said as a player who gives everything for his country, the allegations make him angry.
"That's something that, as players, we take personally," Harris said on Wednesday.
"Because as every time we go out as an Australian cricket team, and I know a lot of other teams do as well, they go out to win.
"Corruption in any sport is very wrong and it damages the credibility of the sport.
"Unfortunately, there's been a couple of instances that have damaged our game, and I know the ICC are doing a very good job and so are Cricket Australia to try to stamp that out."
Australian captain Michael Clarke said no Australian teams he's been involved in have been involved in illegal activity.
Clarke said there were no excuses, with the corruption issue a simple matter of the difference between right and wrong.
"We are all very well educated. I can only talk about the Australian players but, in this country, we're very well educated. I'm very happy, satisfied and confident the Australian players are making the right decisions," Clarke said.
"I'm extremely confident about the players that I've played with. For this Australian team, they all know very clearly that there is no room for corruption in our team. A big part of our job is to uphold the integrity of our sport and I think we do that well."
Share
