'T20 originator' Martin Crowe fears fixing fiasco may cast pall over 2015 World Cup

Former New Zealand cricketer Martin Crowe has expressed fears that whole match-fixing scandal from the Lou Vincent case and the subsequent allegations around Chris Cairns could cast a pall over the hosting of the cricket World Cup next year.

The Vincent case has brought into focus the itinerant Twenty20 specialist and whether they are a fixing danger, given perceived low levels of loyalty and exposure to leagues where anti-corruption policing is non-existent

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Crowe said that the match-fixing story has been the most high-profile cricket story of all time, adding that given that the World Cup will be held in ten months time, there is a concern that the entire issue could be dragged around to next year and dominate the lifetime event.

Crowe further expressed a sense of betrayal at the entire issue and said that he wished he never came up with the idea of the Twenty20 as he believes it is being exploited by the underworld and that the loyalty has been replaced in too many cases by betrayal.