LONDON: Sussex cricket manager Mark Robinson said on Tuesday he is sickened by the match-fixing allegations against former players Lou Vincent and Naved Arif.

The pair have been charged by the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in relation to two matches in 2011.

Robinson said: “The last few weeks have been upsetting. We are deeply shocked.

“The thought that someone isn’t performing to their highest ability to try and win is sickening and disgusts myself, the players and the club.”

Batsman Vincent, 35, has been charged with 14 offences and bowler Arif, 32, with six.

The allegations against Vincent arise from two Sussex matches played in August 2011 — a Twenty20 quarter-final against Lancashire and a 40-over game against Kent — while Arif’s only relate to the latter fixture.

The Sussex-Kent match was investigated and cleared by the International Cricket Council’s anti-corruption unit (ACSU), which found insufficient evidence, before the ECB reopened the case in 2012.

If the pair are found guilty, it will be the first time the game’s authorities have proved the outcome of a county match in England was fixed.

And Robinson said he was glad that corruption was being exposed.

“We want the truth to be out, as hurtful as it is,” he said. “There’s an element of trust and you want to believe in people. It’s in world cricket and we hope more are discovered to help bring out the truth.”

Sussex captain Ed Joyce said the current playing squad were ‘very angry’ when the allegations and charges came to light.

Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2014