Windies batsman Samuels found guilty of bookie links

West Indies batsman Marlon Samuels has been found guilty of breaching regulations after a probe into allegations of links with a bookmaker, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) said on Monday.

Samuels (27) could now face a two-year ban from the game if the International Cricket Council (ICC) enforces a mandatory ban.

The WICB said their disciplinary committee had found that Samuels had breached ICC Rules of Conduct 4 in that he “received money, benefit or other reward that could bring him or the game of cricket into disrepute”.

The committee looked into charges that Jamaican Samuels passed on team information to a bookmaker during a one-day series in India in January 2007.

A second charge that Samuels had “directly or indirectly ... engaged in conduct prejudicial to the interests of the game” was dismissed.

The committee, which will now pass on its findings to the ICC, said they would prefer for Samuels not to face a ban but to be “bound over to be of good behaviour for a period not exceeding two years”.—Reuters