Men bailed in cricket fixing probe

The arrests are another blow to a tarnished sport

Three men arrested in London in connection with alleged attempts to fix cricket matches have been released on bail.

Scotland Yard confirmed the arrests on Tuesday. It is thought none of those arrested were players or cricket officials.

The Organised Crime Squad (OCS) arrested two men, aged 35 and 44, at their homes in north London just after 0700BST.

The investigation was launched after an allegation of attempted corruption was reported by a player to the England and Wales Cricket Board

Police spokesman

A third man, aged 42, was arrested at his home in west London just before 1100BST.

All were questioned at a police station in west London.

A police spokesman said: "The investigation was launched after an allegation of attempted corruption was reported by a player to the England and Wales Cricket Board on 3 August, 1999.

"The England and Wales Cricket Board passed this information on to police."

The three men were later bailed to return to a west London police station on July 4, pending further inquiries.

The arrests come as corruption in cricket is under the spotlight world-wide.

A government inquiry in South Africa is ongoing into allegations that former cricket captain Hansie Cronje was paid to fix matches.

Cronje was sacked in April after admitting taking money from a bookmaker.

And sensational allegations have since emerged from the managing director of the South African Cricket Board, Ali Bacher, who claimed two games in the 1999 World Cup were fixed.