Cape Town - Former Proteas opening batsman Alviro Petersen has once again refuted media reports that he is being investigated as part of the probe into the South African T20 scandal last season.
Ex-cricketer Gulam Bodi pleaded guilty in January this year to charges of “contriving or attempting to fix matches” during last year’s RamSlam T20 Challenge and was banned for 20 years from any involvement in officially-sanctioned cricket, with five years suspended.
It has been alleged that Bodi approached a number of his former teammates in a few franchise teams to be part of his modus operandi, and the matter is still under investigation by Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU).
In a Sunday newspaper report, Petersen was named along with five other South African players as among those who are being investigated by the ACSU, with one allegation being that a former Proteas player will be banned for his life for his role in the scandal.
The story was accompanied by a picture of Petersen, and his lawyer Robin Twaddle said in a statement on Monday that the photo would imply that Petersen was the player who would receive the life ban.
But Twaddle stated that Petersen was not being investigated. The 35-year-old top-order batsman, who hails from Port Elizabeth, is currently playing for English county Lancashire.
“Alviro Petersen was not involved in the T20 corruption scandal and has not been investigated for any involvement. He is certainly not in danger of being banned following CSA’s investigation into the scandal,” the statement read.
“Alviro reported the corruption to CSA when he became aware of it and has fully co-operated with CSA during its investigation. Alviro is confident that the investigation report will fully exonerate him.
“Alviro is vehemently opposed to any form of corruption, match fixing or manipulation in the sport that he loves. He firmly believes that the fans have the right to see an honest contest and he will always do everything that he can to give them just that.
Petersen first denied his involvement in the matter in a series of tweets on March 4. “As far as I’m concerned, I’m under no investigation. I confirm that I reported the matter to SACA CEO Tony Irish and ACSU Louis Cole 3 days after I was made aware of the fixing scandal.
“Under the Anti Corruption Code, you have to report any knowledge of corruption, and I did that as required by the code. Subsequent to me reporting the matter, 2 other players also came forward and reported that they were approached. I told the ACSU that all I wanted was for them to stop the fixing in the Ramslam before it happened...
“I was in daily communication with the ACSU after I reported the matter. They knew about my meetings and discussions with others. I met with high profile team of the NPA led by adv. Gerrie Nel on advice by ACSU.”
Cricket South Africa appointed retired Judge Bernard Ngoepe as the independent non-executive chairman of their Anti-Corruption and Security Unit in March, and the unit will compile a report after its investigation is concluded into the matter, the biggest in South African cricket since the Hansie Cronjé match-fixing scandal in 2000.
In 2010, three Pakistani cricketers – Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir – were given various bans and were jailed for spot-fixing, with Amir, who was 19 at the time, making his return to international cricket this year following a five-year ban.