Bracken's accuser 'not of good character'

FORMER Pakistan captain Rashid Latif, a match-fixing whistleblower, has claimed that several key players from most Test nations are involved in spot- and bracket-fixing but says the former Australian fast bowler Nathan Bracken would not be implicated.
Bracken was also given strong support last night by officials from the International Cricket Council's anti-corruption unit, who privately said he was of ''very good character''.
Bracken was unknowingly dragged into the match-fixing spotlight yesterday when the agent Mazhar Majeed, who is accused of taking bribes to fix matches involving Pakistan players, claimed in a London court that Australians were ''the biggest'' when it came to rigging games.

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In a stunning tape played to the jury as a result of a sting by the now-defunct News of the World, Majeed also named Bracken as one of the players he had managed.
Latif, 42, said it was unlikely Bracken would have been involved in any fixing and said Majeed's testimony could not be believed because ''he is not of good character''.
Latif said bookies were often only interested in luring ''top players who have influence'' and players ''who can change a match''. Bracken, who played five Tests and 116 one-day internationals before retiring in January, was once the world's No.1 ranked one-day international bowler but he had little influence on team decisions.
''It's very difficult to put money on lower players, you don't know what they are going to do,'' Latif said.
Bracken and his manager, Rob Horton, have rejected any links to Majeed. They were furious last night and feared the reputation of the left-arm seamer would be tainted.
However, Latif, who played 37 Tests and 166 one-day internationals and, at one stage, announced his retirement in protest over match-fixing suspicions on the 1994 tour of Zimbabwe, maintains he has suspicions about the type of dismissal of two Australian batsmen several years ago.
Speaking from Karachi, Latif said he did not have enough evidence to take to the ICC. The Herald has withheld the names and the match in question for legal reasons. Majeed said he also knew ''all the agents'', including James Henderson, the man who manages the former Australian captain Ricky Ponting. Henderson denied even knowing who Majeed was.
Latif has warned that world cricket corruption remains a major issue, with Twenty20 now the preferred format for bookies attempting to influence results because the loss of wickets to outlandish shots in the helter-skelter format could be disguised because they were often innocently the norm.
However, he said one-day internationals gave bookies more options, and outlined what some powerbrokers in the cricketing industry believe is a new term - bracket-fixing.
Majeed alleged on tape that Australian players would fix ''brackets'' - certain periods of a one-day international whether that be batting or bowling.
''The Australians, they are the biggest. They have 10 brackets a game,'' he said.
Latif said these brackets were between overs 1-5, 6-10, during the batting and bowling powerplays when fielding restrictions were tightened, and between overs 31-50. This would involve determining how many runs were scored and wickets taken.
Majeed also disclosed what it would cost to fix a game. He said between $80,000 and $130,000 was required for information about a bracket, $640,000 to rig the outcome of a Twenty20 match, $720,000 for a one-day international and $1.6 million for a Test match.
Latif said Pakistani players would always be more susceptible to wooing by underworld figures because they were paid less than most of their international rivals and were not educated as rigorously by their boards on anti-corruption measures.
Tim May, the chief executive of the Federation of International Cricketers, the players' worldwide union, told the Herald yesterday it was time to stiffen measures to limit or avoid corruption.
This included giving the international fixture greater meaning and introducing an accredited player-agent scheme for all nations.
Bracken, who wouldn't comment on the insinuation made in the London court when contacted by the Herald last night, was furious and he also feared his reputation risked being sullied.
After being forced to retire from all cricket last January because of a chronic knee problem, the 34-year-old was in the throes of finalising some business opportunities.
Meanwhile, Bracken's case against Cricket Australia for loss of income following a knee injury which forced him into retirement earlier this year heads to court today in Sydney.