Jones, Crowe deny fixing matches

SYDNEY, NOV. 1. Former Australian batsman Dean Jones and ex-New Zealand captain Martin Crowe have denied any involvement in match-fixing after being named in an Indian police report into corruption in the game.

The two retired Test players were among nine non- Indian players named in the 162-page report released today. The report said the nine foreign players either had been offered or had accepted money from an illegal Indian bookmaker.

Jones, speaking on Australian radio, said it was common knowledge that he had been approached but repeated he not been involved in any match-fixing and had nothing to hide. The former star batsman, who retired in 1994, has previously admitted he was approached by an Indian bookmaker in 1992.

Jones said he did not accept the offer and later reported the incident to the Australian Cricket Board (ACB). ``I've had complete investigations through me by the current Australian chief executive officer (Malcolm Speed) and his board and also (former ACB chief executive) Graham Halbish back in 1992-93,'' Jones said. ''As far as I'm concerned I've been vindicated coming out saying I've been approached back in 1992.''

Crowe told the New Zealand press association he had also been approached by an Indian bookmaker posing as a journalist but had rejected his advances. ``I told him to leave me alone,'' Crowe said. ''That was about the only contact I've ever had with that part of the world and the first time I've heard of it since.''

Current Australian Test batsman Mark Waugh was also named in the report. Waugh was fined by the ACB in 1995 along with leg spinner Shane Warne after the pair admitted accepting money from a bookmaker for pitch reports. Both players admitted to being ``naive and stupid'' but denied anything more sinister.

Waugh was not available for comment today but the ACB released a statement saying it wanted to see the latest Indian report contained before deciding whether any action was needed. ''The ACB is yet to see any element of the document that would allow it to make an informal assessment of the issues that relate to Australia,'' Speed said.

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Section  : Sport
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