Peter Della Penna has written a fascinating article for CricInfo on the global gambling on cricket matches, and why Associate nations are of great interest in this market. It would be interesting to know how this massive industry relates to Cricket Canada’s Global T20 tournament- and to consider the vulnerabilities associated with it.
“In the first two matches mentioned in the allegations against the Hong Kong trio of Irfan Ahmed, Nadeem Ahmed and Haseeb Amjad, which took place at the 2014 World Cup Qualifier, Hong Kong beat Scotland by 17 runs and beat Canada by nine wickets. Irfan scored an unbeaten century off 85 balls while Haseeb took 3 for 42 in the Canada match. Irfan also top-scored with 75 against Scotland, while Haseeb and Nadeem combined for seven wickets in that win. Their performances might leave fans completely bewildered when reading the corruption charges against them.

Intentionally underperforming doesn’t necessarily mean playing to lose. The charges laid against the Hong Kong players include accusations of “being party to an effort to fix or contrive or otherwise influence improperly, the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of the match”. Simply put, there are ways to affect the match, and the betting market, without losing.”
Full article