Outgoing ICC ACU chief Alex Marshall warns of corruption threat in ‘mismanaged T20 leagues’

As he prepares to leave the ICC, Alex Marshall, head of the global anti-corruption unit (ACU), has warned that the country’s “low-level” T20 leagues remain a “threat” to the game as corrupt individuals are targeted. using them as an entry point. Marshall, 63, decided to retire from the ICC in November, ending a seven-year term, which began in 2017 as director-general of the ICC’s integrity unit, which includes security and anti-doping agencies outside the ACU.

Marshall, a former senior police officer in the UK, recently contacted the ICC about his decision, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family, including parents and grandchildren in England. Marshall, who succeeded YP Singh, was the fourth head of the ACU and was shortlisted by Sir Ronnie Flanagan, the independent chairman of the anti-corruption organisation.

Marshall said that although corruption will continue to haunt cricket, he is “proud” that during his time in charge, the ACU succeeded in helping the players to come forward about the methods of corruption. “I’m proud of the huge increase in the confidence of the players who are now reporting to us on a regular basis and there was a time when they had no confidence in confidentiality and action being taken,” Marshall told ESPNcricinfo on Friday. “Currently, they have seen corrupt people being disturbed, named, and prevented when they are involved in cricket. And the education we are doing now with the players shows them who are the perpetrators of corruption, what are their methods, so everyone is better equipped and protected to keep corruption out of the game.”

Marshall said he was happy with the progress in Sri Lanka, where he said there are now strict rules to prevent corruption. “Sri Lanka turned into a good story because there were serious issues that were being discussed in this country and at the ICC,” he said. “Now with the law and strict measures Sri Lanka is in the best position to avoid the corrupt.”

Two other former international captains, Shakib Al Hasan of Bangladesh and Heath Streak of Zimbabwe, who died last September, have been charged by Marshall’s ACU with wrongdoing. Both players accepted their guilt. In 2019, the ACU banned Shakib from all three internationals for failing to report “not one but three” instances of alleged corruption by Deepak Aggarwal for involvement in corrupt practices in two tournaments in 2018: the ODI series in Zimbabwe and the IPL. the same match in the same year when the Bangladesh player played for Sunrisers Hyderabad.

As he prepares to leave his ICC post, Marshall has a word of warning for those who manage, play and manage cricket: that corrupt elements continue to roam, waiting for any opportunity to enter the system. And one of those routes, Marshall stressed, is the “bad” franchise-run T20 leagues, which are outside the ICC ACU and overseen by member country boards.

“I am confident that the cricket you are watching is safe and clean,” said Marshall. “But I’m also sure that corrupt people are always looking for a way into the game, especially in the low-level leagues that are poorly managed. The threat of the game is that corruption will not end until there is money to be made. And they will look for weaknesses in the system to get in.”