November 1, 2001	Thursday	Shaba’an 14, 1422

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KARACHI, Oct 31: The chief investigator of International Cricket Council, Lord Paul Condon, will not go to Sharjah due to recurrence of a severe back trouble, reports received here said Wednesday.

Sir Condon was scheduled to reach United Arab Emirates Thursday to monitor the matches in Sharjah, where a tri-series in currently being played.

The venue of Sharjah is under suspicion of match-fixing and the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) is investigating the allegations since last year.

The organizers in Sharjah have beefed up security and have restricted the movement of people on the ground to curb match-fixing during tournaments.

The ACU Wednesday issued a press release which says:

Members of the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) are working in Sharjah and India this week, as part of the Unit’s worldwide remit to counter security and corruption threats to international cricket in general, and the 2003 ICC World Cup in South Africa in particular.

“The ACU is now a formal member of the Security Directorate for the 2003 World Cup, and is fulfilling a major role on behalf of all competing teams in the planning and co-ordination of anti-corruption and security protocols, leading up to the tournament.

“ACU investigators are in Sharjah for the triangular tournament, where they are carrying out an independent audit of new security measures introduced by the Cricketers Benefit Fund Series. These have been implemented as a direct response to stringent recommendations made by th ACU.

“The visit to India follows recent discussions in South Africa, where we worked closely with the Security Directorate.” commented Lord Condon, director of the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit.