15 Oct 2011

Clarke defends players against match fixing

11:30 am on 15 October 2011

The Australia cricket captain Michael Clarke has defended his players against match-fixing allegations after a sports agent said the country's top cricketers were the biggest culprits.

Mazhar Majeed, accused by prosecutors of taking bribes to fix matches, also said in court in London earlier this week that Australian cricketers had fixed set period of a match on which punters could bet, a London court heard on Monday.

The accusation drew a scornful response from Cricket Australia earlier this week and Clarke says he's confident no Australian players were involved.

Clarke says he's never had a conversation with anybody about any such thing.

He says there's been a couple of occasions when other Australian players have been approached and that's been reported to team management.

Clarke's comments come as the trial involving spot-fixing allegations against former Pakistan captain Salman Butt and bowler Mohammad Asif continues in London.

Prosecutors allege that Majeed conspired with Butt and fast bowlers Asif and Mohammad Amir to fix parts of the Lord's test between England and Pakistan last August.

Clarke will lead Australia in three one-day internationals and two tests against South Africa in October and November.