Cricketers should be educated about match-fixing: Graham Gooch

Former England captain and now batting coach Graham Gooch said it was time to educate cricketers about match-fixing and feels prevention is preferable to prosecution.

“It’s very sad for the game that these stories keep raising their ugly heads. We want the game to be clean and a fair contest. The vast majority of cricketers want to play an honest game, face up to the challenge of the opposition and give it their best shot,” Gooch was quoted as saying by The Daily Telegraph.

“They want to know, if they win, that they’ve given it their best and their opponents have given it their best too. That’s what you play for,” he said.

Gooch was Essex’s batting coach when Mervyn Westfield, who is the first British cricketer to be jailed for match-fixing, was at the county club.

“Hopefully, there will be a lot better education of young players in terms of what players need to be wary of and on their guard ove. But we know in life, not just cricket or sport, there are people who want to get up to things that are reprehensible. All we can do in cricket is try to put our house in order,” Gooch said.