Azhar's case tragic, says Lord MacLaurin

By P. Subramanyam

LONDON, NOV. 28. The English and Welsh Cricket Board (ECB) chairman, Lord MacLaurin, today said the former Indian captain, Mohammed Azharuddin, being found guilty of match-fixing in an Indian board inquiry was ``a tragedy''.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's ``Today'' programme, this morning, Lord MacLaurin said: ``It's sad that someone like him has been found guilty, but, people now know they will get life bans, if they transgress. He was reacting to the Board of Control fro Cricket in India president, after Mr. A. C. Muthiah's announcement yesterday.

The ECB chief said, ``he has been a wonderful player and it's terrible as he'll have to face his friends and the general public and say I am guilty. This will indeed be irksome and would be totally unacceptable to the cricketing fraternity. And, of course, the game's followers would also feel that they have been cheated in the name of the glorious game and the whole episode is a sham and totally disgraceful.''

Lord MacLaurin went on to add, ``when Hansie Cronje was caught and later confessed, I had said it was just the tip of the iceberg.''

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Section  : International
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