I'm not a fixer, says Brendon McCullum
New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum has made a public statement that he has never been invloved in fixing matches and added that he was “shocked” to found his testimony in the hands of media.
"Let me be clear I have never ever fixed a cricket match. I am 100 percent behind the fight against corruption in the sport," he said in his statement before appearing at a media conference in Christchurch.
The dashing wicket-keeper batsmen who has flown back from India for the birth of his child faced the media to clear things and expressed hope that these kind of leaks never happen in the future.
"Yes! I gave my testimony to the ICC in good faith so I was shocked when I read it in the media. I hope it does not stop others coming forward in the future as all players need to play their part in stamping out corruption," told McCullum why testimonies should not be made public.
"With regards to my testimony and the fact it has been aired in public I'm obviously very disappointed about that," McCullum said.
He also added that he will give his complete co-operation to address this situation.
"I can't go into what's going into the investigation or my involvement in it but I will continue to fulfil my role in the investigation. I guess from my point of view the dealings I've had with the group that I've dealt with, I have confidence. How the leak happened, I'm not sure but I have confidence in them. If one of the players found themselves in the same situation, I would encourage them to go down the same path," said McCullum.
A British newspaper had published McCullum telling investigators how he had been approached twice in 2008 about match-fixing by his hero who became a friend – identified as 'Player X'. Former New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns, is alleged as the ‘Player-X’ involved in the controversy and supposedly tried to lure McCullum and other members of the team into fixing.
When asked whether Chris Cairns was 'Player X,’ McCullum maintained silence.
ICC president Alan Isaac called the leaks as “terrible” and said that the ICC had begun an investigation into the leaks. He also sought an injunction against the British daily that had published them.
"It is terrible this has leaked," he told Radio New Zealand. "(ICC chief) Dave Richardson has made some enquiries and we don't believe it has leaked from any of our people. We have taken steps to try to injunct the media to try and stop them releasing any further information they have. We are really just trying to stop them on grounds that it's not helpful," Issac added.