January 12, 2012. Mervyn Westfield, the former Essex bowler, has become the first English cricketer to be convicted of spot-fixing after pleading guilty at the Old Bailey, London's central criminal court, to criminal charges arising from a spot-fixing investigation by Essex police. He will be sentenced on February 10 and faces a maximum jail term of seven years.
Westfield admitted he accepted £6,000 to concede 12 runs in his first over of Essex's Pro40 tie against Durham at Chester-le-Street in September 2009. The match was televised live and was available in many parts of the world, so making it an appealing target for cricket's illegal gambling industry.
He pleaded guilty to accepting or obtaining corrupt payments under the 1906 Corruption Act. A lesser charge of assisting another person to cheat at gambling was ordered to lie on file. Judge Anthony Morris also made a pointed reference to a second person referred to in court as the "fixer" when he said: "It seems the alleged corruptor is a person whose name is known to me, and I'm sure known to many people interested in cricket."
Report by ESPN Cricinfo
Posted in: Sport
