COLOMBO: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday suspended Sri Lanka's bowling coach Nuwan Zoysa after accusing him of match-fixing and other "corrupt conduct" in the sport.
"Mr Zoysa has 14 days from 1 November 2018 to respond to the charges," the ICC said in a brief statement.
Zoysa is charged, among other things, for "being party to an effort to fix or contrive or to otherwise influence improperly the result, progress, conduct or other aspect of an International match", the statement said.
It gave no further details.
Forty-year-old Zoysa is the second Sri Lankan to be charged by the ICC's anti-corruption unit (ACU).
Earlier this month, dashing former batsman, ex-chief selector and former captain Sanath Jayasuriya was charged for failing to cooperate with a match-fixing probe and concealing information.
Jayasuriya, 49, was reportedly asked to cooperate with an inquiry from ACU chief Alex Marshall who visited Sri Lanka last month.
The ACU is acting further on their previous investigation which in January 2016 saw Galle stadium curator Jayananda Warnaweera banned for three years after he failed to cooperate with the ACU.
ACU head Marshall last month said: "There is currently an ICC (ACU) investigation under way in Sri Lanka. Naturally as part of this we are talking to a number of people."
It was not immediately clear if the charges against Zoysa and Jayasuriya relate to the same case or if they are being investigated separately.
Sri Lanka has recently sought help from neighbouring India to drafting laws to combat cheating in the game.
Colombo has also promised to establish a special police unit to investigate match-fixing after a documentary aired in May showed Galle groundsman Tharanga Indika and professional cricketer Tharindu Mendis allegedly talking about doctoring the pitch for the Test against England starting November 6.
Indika and Mendis have been suspended by Sri Lanka Cricket pending an ICC investigation. A third man, provincial coach Jeevantha Kulatunga, was also suspended.
ICC suspends Sri Lanka bowling coach Nuwan Zoysa over match-fixing accusation
ICC suspends Sri Lanka bowling coach Nuwan Zoysa over match-fixing accusation
- Zoysa is charged, among other things, for "being party to an effort to fix or contrive or to otherwise influence improperly the result"
- Forty-year-old Zoysa is the second Sri Lankan to be charged by the ICC's anti-corruption unit
Stuttgart rescues 3-3 draw as Bundesliga relegation scrap impacts Champions League race
- Stuttgart stayed fourth in the last qualification spot for Europe’s premier club competition, but it missed the chance to move four points above fifth-place Leipzig, held 2-2 by Borussia Dortmund on Saturday
BERLIN: Germany forward Deniz Undav scored late to salvage a 3-3 draw for Stuttgart at last-place Heidenheim as the Bundesliga’s relegation scrap and race for Champions League qualification converged on Sunday.
Stuttgart stayed fourth in the last qualification spot for Europe’s premier club competition, but it missed the chance to move four points above fifth-place Leipzig, held 2-2 by Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.
Heidenheim almost scored a late winner in stoppage time that would have narrowed the gap on second-last Werder Bremen to just three points before their clash in Bremen next weekend. Adam Kölle headed just wide in stoppage time for Heidenheim.
Chris Führich fired Stuttgart into an early lead before Eren Dinkci replied for Heidenheim.
Stuttgart’s Ermedin Demirović thought he had made it 2-1 on a counterattack but the goal was ruled out and a penalty awarded to Heidenheim after a VAR check found Maximilian Mittelstädt had fouled Dinkci in the area at the other end.
Arijon Ibrahimović converted Heidenheim’s penalty to make it 2-1 to the home team instead.
Mittelstädt atoned for conceding the spot kick by converting another penalty for 2-2 in the 44th.
Demirović had another goal ruled out through VAR for offside in the second half, and Heidenheim substitute Sirlord Conteh scored what he hoped was the winner in the 82nd after Ibrahimović’s initial effort was saved.
But Undav, also a substitute, equalized for Stuttgart in the 88th and almost got another in stoppage time when he was thwarted by Diant Ramaj in the Heidenheim goal.
Big points for St. Pauli
St. Pauli boosted its chances of survival with a 2-1 home win over relegation rival Bremen that lifted the Hamburg-based club above the visitors into the relegation playoff spot.
Japan midfielder Joel Chima Fujita scored what proved to be the winner with a low shot inside the far corner in the 70th, minutes after Jovan Milošević had drawn the visitors level.
Bremen’s third straight defeat under new coach Daniel Thioune stretched the team’s winless run to 13 games.
St. Pauli celebrated its back-to-back wins at home after surprising Stuttgart 2-1 in the 21st round.
Freiburg up to seventh
Matthias Ginter and Igor Matanović scored as Freiburg beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 2-1 and moved to seventh.
Freiburg stretched its winning streak at home to five games across all competitions, while Gladbach’s winless run stretched to seven matches.
