Mark, what have you got to hide?

By Malcolm Conn

SYDNEY, JAN. 23. Mark Waugh has forfeited the right to play for Australia following his refusal to co-operate with cricket's anti-corruption investigation. He must be banned immediately. Only if he is cleared by a thorough investigation of all allegations against him should Waugh be allowed to play for his state and country again.

Since Waugh, Brian Lara and Alec Stewart were named amongst a galaxy of largely retired stars in November by an Indian police report to have alleged links with illegal bookmakers, there has been consistent claims that they should be stood aside for the good of the game pending a current investigation by the International Cricket Council's anti- corruption commission.

Once again cricket authorities have taken the soft option and allowed them to continue. Now Australian cricket is paying a heavy price.

Waugh's refusal to be interviewed by investigators from the Australian Cricket Board and the ICC over allegations that he took about $36,000 from an illegal bookmaker in Hong Kong seven years ago has driven another stake through the heart of the game's credibility.

At a time when international players should be doing everything in their power to convince people the game is not bent, Waugh hides behind his lawyers.

For a man who has played some of cricket's great modern innings, it is one of the most cowardly acts ever perpetrated in 124 years of international competition.

If Waugh has nothing to hide, as ACB chief executive Malcolm Speed claimed only a few days ago, then why can't he take one simple step for the good of the game? Instead he continues to slaughter the reputation of Australian cricket.

It smacks of a selfish, greedy, narrow cricketer putting himself ahead of one of his country's most-loved institutions. That's hardly new for Waugh. He did it in 1994 when he and Shane Warne received money from an illegal bookmaker during a tour of Sri Lanka and were subsequently flogged with a feather by the ACB before the inevitable cover-up. Now we are expected to take glib denials at face value, just like South Africa did with Hansie Cronje, to its ever-lasting detriment.

The last time Mark Waugh denied to me that he had received money from an illegal bookmaker was in December 1998, about three hours before the ACB rolled over and admitted their cover-up of Waugh and Warne under threat of exposure. Waugh claims that he has already co-operated with inquiries in Pakistan and Australia.

So Mark, can you ask your lawyers which statement they want us to believe? The brief secret confession you originally made in early 1995 when you admitted to being contacted by bookmakers a few times? The statement you made to the Lahore High Court's match- fixing inquiry in Pakistan during September 1998, with the full backing of the ACB, when you failed to mention any details of your dealings with illegal bookmakers?

Or the version you gave to another Pakistan inquiry, specially constituted in Melbourne after your bookie scandal was exposed, when you admitted to contact maybe a dozen times in four different countries over six months?

Shouldn't a cricketer with prior convictions and a fluctuating memory be doing everything in his power to convince the game's many supporters that his cricket life is transparent.

He has made a small fortune from the public's support of the game. They have a right to expect the game is seen to be clean. Instead his lawyers put out a statement which is laughable in the extreme. ``Waugh's focus is on his commitment to cricket and to ensure the game's reputation is not further tarnished by endless inquiries and speculation,'' the statement concluded.

Oh really. What sort of twisted logic is that.

Firstly, Waugh's commitment to cricket extends way beyond batting, bowling and fielding. With his background, the recent allegations, and the very reliable evidence given against a number of other big names including Cronje, it extends all the way to the anti-corruption administrator's door.

Secondly, cricket is in such a state over match-fixing that every allegation must be thoroughly investigated. Administrators ignored the problem for more than a decade but it didn't go away. At last count 13 players have been punished by match-fixing inquiries and four former captains have been banned - three for life.

Thirdly, what sort of speculation do Waugh's lawyers believe will be ended by Waugh refusing to be interviewed over these current allegations.

The question on almost every cricket follower's lips today is: ``Mark, what have you got to hide?''

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