Cricket’s MCC Corruption Beating Lie Detector Proposals

Introducing lie detectors into the game of sport is a radical suggestion to have been made in an attempt to beat corruption after a damaging year for cricket.

The Marylebone Cricket Club’s (MCC) World Cricket Committee, which includes former players such as Steve Waugh and Courtney Walsh, will put forward the proposals to the MCC Laws sub-committee for consideration in February. The recommendations will then be forwarded to the International Cricket Council (ICC) for approval.

The suggestion is just one of a number of ideas to have been generated including legalising and regulating betting markets in India, the inclusion of anti-corruption clauses in playing contracts, and the non-selection of so-called “tainted” players.

“The MCC World Cricket Committee has recommended that the laws of cricket be amended specifically to forbid the corruption or attempted corruption of any aspect of a match,” read a statement from the MCC.

The measures have been discussed in the wake of a scandal involving Pakistan trio Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif. The three players were suspended under the ICC anti-corruption code in September over allegations of spot-fixing.

The MCC statement continued: “The Committee is concerned at the scale of the problem, and the detrimental effect it has placed on the integrity of the game. The education of players should not be a meaningless formality; the message should be pressed home with regularity by figures known and respected by the players.”