Yesterday Pakistan, today Sri Lanka, tomorrow who?

Kersi, I tend to agree with Anil (above). If you go looking with intent you can definitely find situations which may now be seen as questionable. As for South Africa, choking is not match fixing. The 1992 result was just unfortunate and showed the futility of the system then in place for rain shortened matches. Scoring 22 off one ball is a bit much for most, including myself and Bradman! As for 1999 and the tie, if the fix was on I'm not sure the best way to handle it would be to hit the first two balls of the last over for four, as Klusener did, and then manage to avoid a single for the next couple of balls until the run out. That run out was just panic created by the almost panicked run out the ball before. As Tony Abbott once said, "Shit happens!". As for this recent World Cup I think the two form teams made the final. It's difficult to argue with that. If those two teams were India and Sri Lanka then there simply is no room for South Africa in the final. SA has probably fallen a bit short in World Cups but, really, the only one where they should have done better was 1999 - and they blew it.

Anil, I'm not sure about Tendulkar or Bradman but I think you'll find Benaud and Sobers were huge gamblers - in the cricketing sense. Indeed, Sobers was a huge gambler on and off the field. Still is, I imagine. Not a match-fixer though, just a big punter on he neddies!

I must make a point here Kersi! If we were to review any match , or most matches , with the objective of looking for MISSED OPPORTUNITIES AND CHANCES to examine if IT COULD BE FIXED I am sure we will CONSTRUE enough evidence. Cricket is the most unpredictable sport and therein lies the charm of the game. Let us not muck it up . The only people who really gain from the controversy are the bookies and the media. The Game looses out!

I agree, Brendon, There was nothing suspicious about the SAfrica - England World Cup match in Sydney 1992. But in some other World Cup matches they seem to choke when on top. They need a sport psychiatrist to give them confidence in their ability. On form, they should have won the 2011 WC, having the best attack and a batting line-up as good as India's. After all, they did beat the eventual champs in Group B.

There was nothing suspicious about the 1992 semi final against England. England won and deservedly so. How do I know? I was at the ground. The controversy about the 1992 semi was the rain delays. Its entered mythological status that somehow South Africa were robbed by the rain delays and now that they threw the game? Only thing I see is Hansie Cronje taking 46 balls to score 24 runs and then getting out. I doubt anyone else but Cronje would be trying to throw the game and I think this was before he started taking bribes. South Africa had only been back in international cricket for 4 months. http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/65155.html See for yourself. 22 runs left off 13 balls which than changed to 21 runs off 1 ball. But even without the last rain delay I would still put my on England winning. Even today getting 22 runs off 13 balls isnt easy. But in 1992 it was a rarity. Put this down in one of "cricketing myths that won't die".

Hashan Tilakarathna related to Sarath Fonseka. Sarath Fonseka also controvosial statement about WHITE FLAG. HASHAN statement also same as that. This shows their patriotism

"..I agree, there have been some very odd results in the last 10 or so years" I agree .. like England winning The Ashes etc..

Cricket started out as a game for gambling, which induced fixing pretty quickly. They stamped out gambling when it became apparent, but it seems someone has hit the 'return to default settings' button somewhere along the track. While most punters here seem to refute or dismiss the fixing claims, it seems to me a little too much to be simply dismissed. People - and most of all the administrators - want to dismiss it because it ruins everything for them; the dreams, the time spent wacthing and arguing about the game. It's like being told the Van Gogh you bought and have admired for 50 years is indeed a worthless fake, just as you were thinking of selling it and buying an island with a few Bugatti Veyrons. You would probably try and maintain its authenticness at all costs. It all seems a little too common now. Personal grievances and attention seeking ? I dont think so. My interest in cricket has been waning ever since the Windies decline began, and this could be the final nail through the wrist for me. The game is in a shambles, turning more into professional wrestling than a real sport almost. And what ever happened to the Pakistani wicket keeper who fled to England due to threats from bookies? I agree, there have been some very odd results in the last 10 or so years in cricket, maybe more.

How many criceters ARE NOT GAMBLERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!\Maybe a Tendulkar or a Bradman or a Benaud or a Sobers!!!!!!!!

Kersi, I guess this is an unwinnable discussion. I recall talking this over with Vinay & yourself. I argued that the players - Cronje, Azharuddin, Salim Malik, etc - were the ones who were made the scapegoats, when the real culprits were the administrators, who got away with behaving with impunity. Naturally Vinay, who could sometimes be rigid black & white in his views, would have none of it. While I don't condone the actions of the above players, I attempted to argue it from their point of view. The players were being asked to participate in meaningless one day competition after another, all of which served no genuine purpose other than to fill the coffers of the boards of the competing countries. There was no meaningful prize on offer, like the world cup. These were purely concocted, money making ventures. They sprung up all over the place, especially on the sub-continent. It was only natural that the players decided they might as well get their own cut, as they saw no harm in betting on the side in these meaningless one day extravaganzas. As far the players were concerned, this is what these comps were, meaningless. Of course, two wrongs don't make a right. It's just a shame the administrators aren't hauled over the coals for producing so many meaningless comps, all in the name of making a buck for their associations & who knows, probably for themselves as well.

Arjuna and Thilakaratne, we are a two member political party (sorry three and one in prison) and longing for some publicity. Hey look at us, Ajuna and Hashan, ex cricket captains now politicians, Vote for us please. We have more stories in our cabinets and would reveal them if you vote.

Hashan and many other former players who played cricket in their lives but did nothing else would always want to be associated with sri Lanka cricket. They want to run the cricket administration. They want to advise the team and the minister, they want to be pundits on TV and what not..they want to be the cricket and when they are not invited, they criticise everything. Here he wanted to criticise the world cup final's selection (because they didn't include Hashan in the selection panel) and he wanted to emphasise his points in the strongest possible manner. he went onto criticise everybody except himself since 1992 and he's now in hiding because he has no names to release. Just a silly man.

Kersi Meher-Homji Hashan Tillekeratne was a cricketer but then turned to politics. He is now a serious player in the main opposition party of Sri Lanka and a member of the opposition in the provincial government in Colombo. He is not the most educated or intelligent of speakers. While taking part in a live TV debate representing his political party, he just slipped these words. Since then, we are asking him to release names but he is not only refusing to name any names but even criticising the DailyMirror reporter who reported it the following day. The Sports minister ordered a police investigation following his comments and he says, he is suspicious why the minister is interetsed in an investigation.All in all, Hashan put himself in a muddle by making a stupid comment to attack the government's politics, because the Cricket board is run by the government appointed interim committee and Sanath Jayasuriya is a member of paliament from the governing party. So this will end up as a non-story. Your title will have to be edited to read Yesterday Pakistan, India and South Africa plus Warne and Alec Stewart but tomorrow it will still be the same lot. Sri Lanka cricket is engulfed at times with politics but you can't question the honesty of the setup and players. Sangakkara was perhaps the most intelligent man to play cricket during the worldcup and he would have known and opposed any secret deal.

Whilst match fixing seems ripe I hardly doubt that South Africa could have arranged for the rain to scupper their chances in 1992. Likewise 1999 it would be impossible for a player let alone a team to orchestrate the tie in 1999. In terms of WC suspicion Bangladesh beating Pakistan in 1999 has to be number 1. Closely followed by Woolmer death in 2007. I think its dangerous to cast suspisions without evidence. Ponting for one has a curios history of trying to win test matches with less than average spin bowlers. Or maybe Shaun Tait had good money on most wides for the tournament. Clearly these are baseless, rather than cast suspicions the ICC needs to act and quickly. Finally what's much more likely than entire games being rigged is that bets like next man out, to score 250-300, no-balls. Anything easy for a player, especially a captain to rig. I remember Mark Tayolr commenting many years ago on being on his way to the GABBA whilst captain and seeing a bookmaker taking bets on whether Ponting would get a bowl.

I will never see cricket maches again.

I highly doubt that the world cup final was fixed. Sanga took a chance - it didn't work out. I didn't even know Hashan Tilakaratne was a politician until this came out. This is for pure publicity. You know what they say - "Any press is good press" Ironically, Arjuna and Hashan are both in the Sri Lankan opposition party, and usually they never get attention in politics. Hang in there Sri Lanka !!

Tomorrow who???? Australia,England,India,New Zealand,South Africa,West Indies.......!!!!!!! Is anyone ever going to be able to PROVE IN A COURT OF LAW that a match has been fixed? Not for sure. Yes, the news will sell. Remember Manoj Prabhakar's revelation regarding being approached in Sri Lanka ?What happened?Manoj got slapped with criminal charges on a Loan default and was sent to jail. Powerful criminals control Betting. How many will want to tread on their toes?

Australian cricketing success: one part talent, the other part 'everyone-else-was-match-fixing-themselves-out-of-the-test'?

jus de couchon, I am not implying for one second that there is anything 'fishy' about South Africa in World Cups. But despite being one of the strongest teams in their 19 years of participation in World Cups, their record is surprisingly poor. They have not entered the final even once. Look at their shock loss to England at Sydney in 1992, the tie against Australia in the 1999 semi-final at Edgbaston (and subsequent elimination), their bizarre tie against Sri Lanka at Durban iin 2003 (and elimination again), and loss to New Zealand in the 2011 quarter final at Dhaka in 2011. Somehow their record against New Zealand in World Cups is very poor. To use a cliche, cricket is full of glorious uncertainties. But for South Africans, these uncertainties are far from being glorious. To quote Wisden 2004, "Sydney 1992, Edgbaston 1999 and now Durban 2003. South Africa have certainly acquired an unhappy knack of exiting World Cups in bizarre fashion."

Dont leave South Africa out. Its not just an Asian problem.