Stewart 'absolutely clear' of
allegations: ECB chief
England Cricket Board chairman Lord MacLaurin said on Friday that former
captain Alec Stewart was "absolutely clear" of
involvement in the game's match-fixing scandal.
Stewart was named in an official Indian report on
match-fixing earlier this month. He denied allegations he
took money from a bookmaker, and remained on
England's tour of Pakistan.
MacLaurin said he would meet the head of the
International Cricket Council's anti-corruption unit, Sir
Paul Condon, soon but Stewart's case would not be
discussed.
"We'll talk about things in general," MacLaurin told BBC
radio. "As far as I'm concerned, Alec Stewart is
absolutely clear.
"I had a long conversation with him when it first arose
some 10 days ago and I've said to Alec 'you get on and
do what you do best'.
"For the moment it's (Stewart's case) absolutely closed
-- I have no doubt at all that if anything comes out in the
future that Sir Paul will come and talk to us about it.
"But at the moment the matter is closed. Alec is a very
strong and excellent international cricketer... he will put
this to the back of him and will perform extremely well for
England in this series."
Mail Cricket Editor
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