Lord Paul Condon, the former head of the ICC's Anti-Corruption Unit, says cricket must toughen up to rid the game of corruption.
Former ICC Anti-Corruption boss wants tougher sanctions
Lord Paul Condon, the former head of the International Cricket Council's Anti-Corruption Unit, has warned that the sport must toughen up in order to get rid of corruption.
Condon has called for radical action following the Pakistani spot-fixing scandal and even thinks banning teams could be an option in the future.
Three Pakistan players - Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir - were recently jailed after being found guilty of conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments during last year's tour of England.
"This is a big wake-up call. Cricket is again at a credibility crossroad. I think a number of things have got to happen," Condon told
Radio Five Live.
"I think the ICC have got to renew their efforts and get tougher, I think it has got to be prepared to give the harshest sentences it can - not just to cricketers who are found guilty - but their boards as well.
Consequences
"I think if a particular national board does not, or is not, doing enough to prevent corruption then I think they should also suffer consequences as well.
"The nuclear option is teams would have to be excluded from world cricket if they are not getting their act together."
Condon headed up the ICC's unit for 10 years, stepping down in 2010 before the Pakistan affair was uncovered.
Butt, Asif and Amir were found to have conspired to bowl deliberate no balls during the fourth Test at Lord's, sentences which Condon, a former Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, felt were deserved.
He added: "They deserved the sentences they got.
"I have mixed reactions - sadness but I'm not surprised. They betrayed their country and millions of people around the world who love cricket."
