shares
England fast bowler Mark Wood has dismissed accusations of corruption made in an Al Jazeera investigation as “like the boy who cried wolf”. In a documentary broadcast on Sunday, the channel claimed it had evidence of spot-fixing in 15 international matches between 2011-12, seven involving England
Wood, who will return to the England side for the final ODI of the series against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Tuesday, insisted he did not believe suggestions that England players had been involved and suggested that Al Jazeera had, to date, been rather stronger on sensationalism than substance.
“Until Al Jazeera bring out anything concrete, where they name someone or show a piece of evidence, I’m not going to believe what they say,” Wood told Talksport.
“They keep saying there’s this and that, but never producing anyone or saying there’s any evidence behind it. It’s a bit like the boy who cried wolf. Until they can produce something that I’m worried about then I don’t take any notice of it.”
While Wood’s dismissal of the story is no surprise – he was not involved in the England set-up at the time the alleged incidents occurred and you would hardly expect him to cast doubts over his colleagues – it may be more relevant that he believes it has done nothing to disturb the equilibrium in the squad. Indeed, he said it had not even generated a conversation.
“I haven’t spoken to any of the other players about it,” he continued in an interview with the BBC. “It’s not news to me. It had no sort of ‘hit’ to it.
“If they came up with concrete evidence or they said a name and they could prove something then I would be a bit more worried. But at the moment they keep making accusations and there’s nothing behind it so I’m not too fussed.”
Responding to the claims made by Al Jazeera, the ECB said on Sunday that its own investigations had “cast no doubt on the integrity of any England player, current or former”. The documentary marked the second time in recent months that the channel had broadcast allegations about England players’ involvement in fixing. The ICC has called for Al Jazeera to share evidence that may aid further enquiries.
George Dobell is a senior correspondent at ESPNcricinfo
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