Four South African cricketers, including former Test wicketkeeper Thami Tsolekile, have been handed bans ranging from seven to 12 years for attempting to fix matches, Cricket South Africa (CSA) announced .
Tsolekile, who played the last of his three tests against England at Port Elizabeth in 2004, received a 12-year ban for “contriving to fix a match or matches” in the 2015 Twenty20 domestic competition, the board said in a statement.
- Matshikwe and Mbhalati was banned for 10 years for receiving payments, although three years of Mbhalati’s sentence were suspended.
- Pumelela Matshikwe, Ethy Mbhalati and Jean Symes were also sanctioned for accepting money from ex-international Goolam Bodi who was banned for 20 years in January for attempting to fix matches in the Twenty20 tournament.
- All the players bar Mbhalati were team mates of Bodi, perceived as the go-between between corrupt betting syndicates and cricketers, at the Johannesburg-based Lions franchise.
- Symes received a seven-year ban for also receiving a payment and failing to disclose details of the approach to engage in match-fixing.
The bans follow a lengthy investigation by CSA’s anti-corruption unit.
- Bodi, who was born in India and moved to South Africa as a teenager, played two one-day internationals and one Twenty20 match for the national side in 2007.
- Tsolekile played three tests for South Africa in 2004.
