Samuels

PORT-OF-SPAIN,

Trinidad (CMC):

THE WEST Indies Cricket Board (WICB) said on Friday it would continue to back all-rounder Marlon Samuels who has been accused by Indian police of sharing team information with an alleged bookmaker.

Speaking to the media here, WICB president Ken Gordon said he wanted to assure the 26-year -old that he had the full backing of the board.

"Being faced with such a situation would be quite difficult to deal with so we want to assure the young man that we will be here to support him," Gordon said. "We are backing Marlon in this matter and believe he has done nothing wrong.

"We will let the negotiations take its course. We believe our player is clean and until there is evidence to say otherwise, there will be no sanctions against him."

Police in the Indian city of Nagpur revealed on Wednesday that Samuels had passed on team information to Mukesh Kochar on the eve of the first one-day international of the four-match series last month.

Special team

After receiving a report from Indian authorities, the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Friday decided to send a special team to the city to investigate the matter.

Samuels acknowledged his friendship with Kochar, but claimed he did not know him to be a bookie.

The ICC team, mainly comprising Anti-Corruption Unit officials, will be in Nagpur by tomorrow and will have detailed discussions with the police.

They will also interact with the staff of the hotel where the West Indian cricketers were put up.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra state's deputy Chief Minister, R.R. Patil, has said the telephone conversations between Marlon Samuels and Kochar reveal no evidence of match-fixing.

"The conclusion drawn by police from the conversation does not establish that the Nagpur ODI was fixed," Patil, the Home Affairs minister, was quoted as saying.

"We are handing over our findings to ICC (International Cricket Council) and BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India)."