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World Cup games fixed, says Bacher

South African cricket chief Ali Bacher has claimed that two matches at last year's World Cup were fixed, one international team was throwing and manipulating matches and an umpire was under suspicion.

Bacher told Australian newspapers on Thursday from his home in Johannesburg that his information came from current and former international players and administrators.

"I am as confident as I can be, without having all available evidence for you, that it has been a common practice in world cricket," Bacher told three Sydney newspapers.

He said all details would be supplied to the South African judiciary inquiry into the Hansie Cronje scandal. Cronje is under investigation after Delhi police earlier this month alleged he was part of a match-fixing racket.

Bacher, chief executive of the United Cricket Board of South Africa, agreed the the World Cup match between Bangladesh and Pakistan, when Pakistan were bowled out for 161 while chasing 223, raised the most concern. The top five Pakistani batsmen all failed to reach double figures.

Bacher said Pakistani umpire Javed Akhtar was also under suspicion for the way he handled South Africa's 1998 tour of England, when he gave nine LBWs in the last Test.

Bacher indicated that Pakistan were suspected of throwing matches. A member of the International Cricket Council since 1991, Bacher said the game's governing body had failed to deal with match-fixing.

"I don't have bank accounts or anything like that to prove it, but match-fixing has been the scourge of the game," he said.

"As this latest crisis in South Africa has shown, it is a global problem. No one country can point the finger at anyone else," he added.

Bacher's claims support the allegations made by former Indian cricket board chief I.S. Bindra in Delhi on Wednesday.

"Virtually every match in international cricket is fixed in one form or another," Bindra told a press conference in Delhi.