Cape Town: Four South African cricketers, including former Test wicketkeeper Thami Tsolekile, have been banned for between seven and 12 years for attempting to fix matches, Cricket South Africa announced on Monday.
Tsolekile received a 12-year ban for “contriving to fix a match or matches” in the 2015 Twenty20 domestic competition, the board said.
Pumelela Matshikwe, Ethy Mbhalati and Jean Symes were also banned after accepting money from ex-international Gulam Bodi, previously banned for 20 years, to manipulate matches.
In a statement, CSA Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said: "It is our stated position that any form of corruption in the game will be dealt with severely. We will leave no stone unturned and we will do everything in our power to protect the integrity of the game.
"Corruption is a very serious matter and for this reason we have devoted extensive time and resources to fully investigate every shred of evidence. We are still finalizing certain aspects of the investigation.
"While there has been no evidence to suggest that an actual fix in any match was carried out, these players all participated in material discussions about match fixing.
"Our attitude towards any form of corruption is clear and hence why we have imposed such firm sanctions.
"To their credit, all of these players eventually admitted their misconduct and co operated with the investigators. They have also shown remorse for their actions. Importantly, each of them has indicated a willingness to engage in anti-corruption education to assist us to prevent this kind of conduct in the future.”
