New Zealand Cricket Scandal: Analysis and Recommendations

This report analyzes the New Zealand cricket scandal involving match-fixing allegations against former captain Chris Cairns. It discusses the impact of the scandal on the reputation of the organization and the measures taken to restore trust. The report also provides recommendations to prevent such incidents in the future, including legalizing cricket betting and imposing severe penalties on guilty players and officials.

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Date: 10/12/2017

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Table of Contents
Executive summary....................................................................................................................2
1.0 Opening................................................................................................................................2
1.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................................2
2.0 Context.................................................................................................................................3
3.0 Analysis................................................................................................................................4
3.1Pitfalls...................................................................................................................................4
3.2 Merits...................................................................................................................................5
4.0 Recommendations................................................................................................................6
5.0 Conclusion............................................................................................................................7
References..................................................................................................................................9

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Executive summary
The name of the company that has been selected for the current assignment is New Zealand
cricket which was formerly known as the New Zealand Cricket Council. The New Zealand
cricket is a sports industry. It specializes in governing the professional cricket team of New
Zealand. It operates the New Zealand cricket team, organizes one-day internationals with
other nations as well as test tours. The vision of New Zealand cricket is to make New Zealand
cricket team one of the world's best cricket teams in sports history. The mission of New
Zealand cricket is to organize cricket matches in international and within local grounds. It
also aims to train talented and young cricketers into professional cricket players. The primary
issue that New Zealand Cricket team faced in recent time is the cricket match-fixing
allegations by the former New Zealand cricket captain Chris Cairns. For instance, the case in
question involves the accusation by Lalit Modi, the then Chairman of the Indian Premier
League. Modi alleged that Chris Cairns was involved in match-fixing while participating in
the 2008 Indian Cricket league. The accused was indeed found guilty and incurred a penalty
of £1.4m. This scandal marred the reputation of the organization, and both fans and
stakeholders lost confidence as well. The publication of the illegality in the Daily Mail and
the Daily Telegraph made it spread like bush fire. Also, the manner in which the CEO
handled the issue affirmed the peoples fear including the stakeholders, an issue that
Richardson had to undertake to restore trust in the organization. However, the exposure was
beneficial in that it led to severe measures that sought to restore the confidence of the
stakeholders, fans and the freedom of upcoming cricketers to participate freely in the games
without any fear of predetermined results. To amicably deal with the menace of match-
fixing, the government should legalize betting for easy monitoring in addition to empowering
the anti-corruption unit ICC.

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1.0 Opening
1.1 Introduction
The name of the company that has been selected for the current assignment is New
Zealand cricket which was formerly known as the New Zealand Cricket Council. It is the
governing body for professional cricket in New Zealand. The organization is headquartered
in Christchurch, New Zealand (Ryan, 2004). The New Zealand cricket is in the sports
industry. It specializes in governing the professional cricket team of New Zealand. Cricket is
one of the highest and most famous profile summer sports in New Zealand. Cricket industry
has spread out across numerous nations of the world, and various tournaments are held in
different countries (Blackshaw, 2013).
New Zealand Cricket Council governs the professional cricket in New Zealand. It
operates the New Zealand cricket team, organizes one-day internationals with other nations
as well as test tours. It also organizes numerous domestic cricket within New Zealand that
includes Plunket Shield first-class competition, the Ford Trophy local one-day competition as
well as the Burger King Super Smash domestic 20-20 competition (Nzc.nz, 2017).
The vision of New Zealand cricket is to make New Zealand cricket team one of the
world's best cricket teams in sports history. The mission of New Zealand cricket is to
organize cricket matches in international and within private grounds. It also aims to train
talented and young cricketers into professional cricket players. New Zealand cricket also
seeks to make the cricket team of New Zealand is one of the best teams in the history of
sports (Blackshaw, 2013).
2.0 Context
The latest primary challenge that affected the New Zealand Cricket group is the
accusation of match-fixing on the former team captain Chris Cairns by the then Chairman of

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the Indian Premier Lalit Modi. Modi accused Chris that he was involved match-fixing during
the 2008 Indian Cricket League in which he participated. It was ascertained by the London
court that Chris had convinced his team-mate to fix matches with him. This made Chris to be
regarded as a hero and role model who had played for his country for over 17 years (Khan,
2012).
However, his reputation was marred after the court indeed found him guilty and
alongside Vincent, his teammate. It is marked as the most serious scandal in the history of
New Zealand sports. Lalit Modi was the accuser of the New Zealand cricket team of being
involved in the illegality by their captain in the 2008 Indian Cricket League, and yet it was
among the leading cricket team globally (Nzherald.co.nz, 2017).
The news was spread fast by the newspapers that are wide read in the UK and
worldwide, that is the Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph. International acclaim also was in the
forefront in disseminating the allegations put forth by Lalit Modi (Nzherald.co.nz, 2017).
Then the chief executive responded that they were still investigating the source of the leak to
the media to assure the stakeholders and safeguard the sports’ integrity. This response was
not received well by many quarters with most of them terming it as a deflecting tactic by the
ICC. The cricket correspondent in the Daily Mail Paul Newman referred to the chief
executive as invisible. Richardson interview with the employers was just about conducting
thorough investigations into the incidence of the leaked information (Rolph, 2013).
Therefore, most quarters concluded that the leak was an eye-opener to the main challenges
affecting cricket which are politics and power struggle over progress (Carpenter, 2012).

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3.0 Analysis
3.1Pitfalls
Match fixing is practiced globally today. However, few nations have been accused of
match-fixing alongside majority of the best teams more so in cricket. Although few countries
have been directly responsible for match-fixing, most of the star teams have been involved in
cricket spot match-fixing. Now the activity of match-fixing has advanced to power struggles
and to control cricket by maligning the anti-corruption unit, ACSU. Typically, cricket is a
systematic game and the crime of match-fixing or sport-fixing is carried out during the game.
According to Lilley (2015), the outcomes of the game are predetermined prior which
is in total contradiction of the law and sports ethics. It has substantially affected New Zealand
Sports cricket. Even their response to the leaked statements has been regarded by most
quarters as a deflection strategy. Also, people have lost confidence in the Chief Executive and
the New Zealand crickets’ team. As a result, it is believed that the scandal is all about power
struggle which is weakening the authority of ICC and control the independent anti-corruption
unit. Consequently, the stakeholders have lost trust in the integrity of the team leading to the
loss of reputation both locally and worldwide. The former team captain and star of the New
Zealand National Cricket Team Chris Cairns, was found guilty and charged for match-fixing
(Carpenter, 2012).
According to the New Zealand Cricket, match-fixing has taken another dimension
among the cricket stars as the act of power play to fix others for individual gain rather than
for the tactical sporting reasons. For instance, the leaking of specific confidential information
to the media was regarded by some as a matter of restoring the reputation of Vincent and
Cairns whereas others viewed it as an actual illustration of the cricket leadership transforming
to politics. Jewell (2014) asserts that technology advancement has also complicated online
betting and offered easy grounds for criminals and some atheletes more so criceters to take

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part in match-fixing with the expectation of huge financial benefits in return. It seems that
even the respected stars or instead leadership of the New Zealand cricket team like Chris
Cairns, being swayed by this illegal activity and thus ready to compromise their reputation
and that of the New Zealand cricket team.
The corruption of the cricket by the betting syndicate has reduced the faith of millions
of followers of cricket in New Zealand. For instance, former New Zealand captain Chris
Cairns who has been a role model for every young cricketer has been accused of match-fixing
when he was still a star player while participating in the 2008 Indian Cricket League. This is
to exert more pressure on the upcoming cricketers who will need to toil extra hard to perform
in the future sports due to such corruption. It will be challenging for cricket fans to conclude
that the game was conducted fairly and the player gave his best.
Even now people doubt whether indeed Chris Cairns was best in the game as he
appeared to be or it was victory gained through dubious means like match-fixing (Davies,
2015). Since spot-fixing is different from total match-fixing, it is complicated to predict the
spot-fixing. It usually involves manipulation. Spot-fixing is typically related to specific
incidence within the game. Spot-fixing involves only a few members or minimum one
member of the team. Therefore, the con is very much challenging to detect and is very much
cost effective (Reade, 2014), hence the argument by the former chairman of the Indian
Premier League, Lalit Modi that the New Zealand star may not have worn the 2008 Indian
Cricket League.
3.2 Merits
The exposure of the illegal act of match-fixing by the then cricket hero Chris Cairns
unfolded the fact that not all the critical cricket players performed genuinely and thus probed
the development of the anti-corruption unit ICC to investigate any criminal allegations
towards any match. The former New Zealand captain was found guilty and his reputation

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slandered, but the scandal increased the confidence of the stakeholders in the cricket sports
industry. Also, new and upcoming players could rest assured that henceforth fairness in
cricket games was to be restored at least (Davies, 2015).
The scandal has also exposed the battle for control of cricket that is always in the
background. This struggle for power control has been going on for the benefit few individuals
and at the expense of the success of the sport. Therefore such exposure will most likely
restore the quality of the cricket sport in New Zealand and beyond. Also, the Cairn’s scandal
has sufficiently demonstrated the rot in the governance of cricket which was on its course to
becoming extremely political at the expense of the beloved sport.
Additionally, the trust of the stakeholders has been reassured through the scandal, and
thus this will encourage any of the investors who perhaps wanted to withdraw from cricket
but instead invest more, and even others may be attracted to invest in the sport owing to the
resolution and measures put in place to avoid future illegality. These measures include the
incorporation of several procedures and policies by the Governing body such as ACSU
against match-fixing for any country’s cricket team. According to Harvey (2015), New
Zealand cricket has also improvised a comprehensive framework that prevents and addresses
any risk of match-fixing. The policies also required corporation of national sports
organizations, the industry for sports betting as well as government agencies for
implementing the provisions (Davies, 2015).
4.0 Recommendations
Match-fixing scandals cause issues and potential problems destroying the cricket
game’s integrity and overall enjoyment by their fans. Since match-fixing is a fraud, it needs
to be punished severely. The New Zealand cricket team scandal involving Carnis has cost the
reputation of the New Zealand Cricket to fall drastically, making both New Zealand cricket
fans as well as international cricket fans suspicious about them and to hate the national team

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(Blackshaw, 2013). The first step that New Zealand cricket team could have taken is to make
the punishment for match-fixing and sport-fixing heftier. In addition to permanent burn of the
guilty players or officials, the victory gained through illegal means should be restored to the
second runners-up, and a penalty also imposed so that it can be clear on who was the right
victor.
The anti-corruption unit, ICC should also be empowered to promptly and boldly
undertake any rising cases of illegality in cricket. This can be achieved by the creation of a
specific government task force that is well equipped with the police to help in investigations
and to deal with any intimidations since the alleged people involved match-fixing are
obviously wealthy. Often players participating in such kind of scandals should be humiliated
about their actions by punishing them severely by increasing the penalty, withdrawal of any
awards previously earned in addition to total burn from participating in cricket games. This
will serve to deter any future involvement in the scandal Davies (2015). Government laws
and policies should be incorporated that counters the spot match-fixing.
Furthermore, the cricket betting industry should be legalized. This will help to
monitor the betting industry about the number of betting companies and ensure that they are
registered and open to scrutiny. Thus it will be accessible to follow-up any allegations of
match-fixing and decision on the winner be made in time. Like the case of the former New
Zealand cricket captain whose victory was challenged years later and found to be true that he
indeed was involved in match-fixing hence the reason why he was worn and was perceived to
be a hero (Harvey, 2015).
Therefore, the only potential way of mitigating the issue of spot-fixing in cricket is by
making cricket betting legal. According to Jewell (2014), making the cricket betting illegal
has allowed underworld characters to dominate the sports outcomes in New Zealand society.
Regulating and legalizing cricket bets cannot eliminate the fixing. However, it can be put in

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check, since betting and bookings will be carried out in an open view. Just like the case of
Carnis, if the betting companies were registered then it would have been easier to prove that
the accused indeed was involved in the illegality and therefore be denied the victory and be
barred in time, and this could have helped in retaining the integrity of New Zealand cricket
sports (Lilley, 2015).
5.0 Conclusion
It can be concluded that the most significant sports scandals of New Zealand have
made Chris Cairns, Lou Vincent, Daryl Tuffey and others to be a part of an unethical act that
ultimately diminished the reputation of New Zealand Cricket team. The scandal hampered the
status of the organization making the mission and vision statements of the council look like a
mere joke. Integrity and hard work is a fundamental principle in any sports. The match-fixing
violates such values. The corruption by match-fixing caused the New Zealand Cricket council
to lose the confidence of fans on them. It also subjected the company to become
internationally recognized as a corrupted firm. The shattered reputation will also affect the
sports sector of New Zealand. Cricket has been one of the essential sports of New Zealand.
Since New Zealand Cricket has been the epicenter of the corruption scandal, fans will lose
interest in cricket. This will result in decreased season ticket sales to the game and also
impact the selling of the cricket merchandise items. Youngsters will get attracted to other
sports like soccer, and cricket fans will eventually conclude that cricket is a wholly corrupted
game. Further, New Zealand cricket team will also lose its reputation in the different grounds.
Furthermore, the organization did not handle the scandal more efficiently because the
response of the Chief executive was in itself an affirmation of the rot that existed in the
cricket team. The CEO David Richardson of the organization could have come out openly
and state what had happened since the scandal had gone viral after being featured both in the
Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph. Also, the primary objective of the CEO should have

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been to preserve the integrity and dignity of the organization in preference to any other
including his.

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References
Blackshaw, I. (2013). Match fixing in sport: a top priority and ongoing challenge for sports
governing bodies. De Jure, 46(4), 945-956.
Carpenter, K. (2012). Match-Fixing—The Biggest Threat to Sport in the 21st
Century?. International sports law review, 2(1), 13-24.
Davies, C. (2015). Match and spot fixing: Challenges for the International Cricket Council.
Harvey, A. (2015). Match-fixing: Working towards an ethical framework. Journal of the
Philosophy of Sport, 42(3), 393-407.
Jewell, S., & Reade, J. J. (2014). On Fixing International Cricket Matches (No. em-dp2014-
08). Henley Business School, Reading University.
Khan, S. (2012). Case Comment: Cairns v Modi. Computer and Telecommunications Law
Review, 18, 13-14.
Lilley, E. (2015). A Review of the recommendations of the'Report of the Sports Betting
Integrity Panel'in assessing the progress towards tackling Match-fixing in Sport. Laws
of the Game, 1(1), 37.
Nzc.nz (2017). New Zealand Cricket [online]. Retrieved from: https://nzc.nz/
Nzherald.co.nz (2017). Cricket match fixing: Who’s pulling the strings? [online]. Retrieved
from: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11261043
Rolph, D. (2013). Defamation by social media.
Ryan, G. (2004). The making of New Zealand cricket, 1832-1914. Psychology Press.