Oz amnesty to dob in cheats

Sydney - Cricket Australia on Monday announced an amnesty for anyone coming forward with information relating to match-fixing or doping as it steps up its fight against corruption ahead of the World Cup.

Currently, players and officials can be suspended for up to five years and fined for failing to report a corrupt approach without delay or for not disclosing information about a cheating third party.

But, in a bid to encourage people to come forward, an amnesty -- applying only to the reporting of information and not to players who have committed illegal acts themselves -- will be in place until the end of November.

"We think this is a responsible approach to protecting the game under our jurisdiction," said CA senior manager of integrity Iain Roy.

"We need to ensure the Australian public has full faith in the integrity of the game and the way it is administered."

Roy said there were no suggestions Australian players, officials or administrators were corrupt, but the amnesty would help flush out nefarious characters ahead of next year's World Cup, hosted by Australia and New Zealand.

"We hope that granting a short amnesty period in relation to any previous non-reporting of relevant facts will encourage anyone with information to come forward," he said.

"Facilitating greater sharing of information will assist us in building a more complete picture of the nature and extent of corrupt approaches that may have taken place previously.

"While we have a culture of reporting, we think there are still some who are not as forthcoming as we would like. We encourage players and officials to subscribe to the message that if you see it or hear it, you should report it."

To support the initiative, CA has set up a reporting hotline for players, officials and administrators to securely provide information -- a move supported by the Australian Cricketers' Association.

"In the past, players have told us they've had some concerns about reporting questionable approaches," the ACA's Graham Manou said.

"With the integrity hotline, they should have confidence that information may be reported confidentially and is being treated appropriately."