Spot-fixing: 80 matches to be probed

British newspaper Telegraph reports that more than 80 international cricket matches will be investigated amid allegations that a London businessman has been running a multi-million-pound match-fixing racket. Sources said that the passports of the cricketers under investigation could be seized and that up to seven players could be questioned on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud. The rest of the squad could also be interviewed as potential witnesses. Conspiracy to defraud carries a maximum jail term of 10 years, states the Telegraph report. Up to seven players can be questioned with regards to investigation into scandal. Britains newspapers have said crickets reputation was on the line in the alleged betting scam scandal, as they called for anyone found guilty to be thrown out of the game. In their editorials, some also said the allegations were a bitter blow to Pakistanis, who looked up to their beloved cricket team for inspiration in a troubled country, something that should not be extinguished by the fall-out. The Guardian said the affair showed that the sport itself needed fixing- as in put right. Cricket cheating thrives in many forms: charges of match-fixing and betting coups coexist with a culture of ball-tampering, sledging, time-wasting and refusal to accept umpires decisions, it said. Cricket must put its house in order fast. Nothing undermines the credibility of any sport more than the suspicion that what you are watching is in fact a fix.