NEWS
OTHER SPORTS
DIARY
PEOPLE
MATCH REPORTS
SLIDE SHOW
ARCHIVES

'I have always given my best for my country'

The statement made by Australian cricketer Mark Waugh on his involvement in a betting scandal on the 1994 tour of Sri Lanka.

During the course of the 1994 tour of Sri Lanka, I was approached by a man who asked me to provide routine information before Australia's one-day matches on that tour.

He asked me general questions on what the Australian side expected from the pitch and weather conditions but at no stage did I discuss team tactics or line-ups.

In return for speaking to me on that handful of occasions he offered me $ 6,000 which I accepted.

At the time I did not see the implications of offering such information, which I thought to be mundane and exactly the same as any pre-match media interview.

In early 1995, the Australian Cricket Board asked me if I had ever provided information to a bookmaker and I replied I had done so the previous year.

I was fined $ 10,000 and paid my fine immediately.

I have never spoken to the bookmaker again since.

In the period since I was fined, the full implications of the possibility that I may be linked to actions much more sinister than those I innocently undertook in 1994 have become very clear to me.

Even while this matter has not been made public until now, I realise and accept fully that my actions were naive and stupid.

I regret them entirely and wish to re-state in the strongest possible manner that I have always given my best for my country in every match I have played and I believe my record, particularly in the last three years, fully supports this statement.

I must emphasise that I have never been involved in match fixing or bribery on cricket matches in any stage of my career.