Image courtesy of: The Guardian
Westfield claims he was “cajoled” into match-fixing by Kaneria
Disgraced Essex pace bowler Mervyn Westfield has announced his eagerness to help the next generation of cricketers avoid making the same mistakes he did.
Westfield was jailed for four months and slapped with a five-year ban by the International Cricket Council (ICC) after he was found guilty of giving away a set number of runs during a Pro40 match against Durham in 2009.
Westfield continues to claim that Pakistani leg-spinner Danish Kaneria, who is currently serving a life ban, “cajoled” him into match-fixing.
However, due to his interest in helping youngsters avoid getting mixed up in match-fixing, Westfield’s ban has been relaxed slightly and he will now be allowed to resume club cricket from April 1 2014.
“I’m sorry for what I’ve done,” Westfield said in a statement released by the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA). “I just want to put it right and help identify the clear dangers that exist. Cricket has been my life since I was six, and it’s all I know, what I love, and what I live for. I have missed playing so much.
“I hope people can forgive my actions and maybe even find it in themselves to understand how difficult I’ve found it to cope with every step of this affair. I will now do all I can to help PCA and others to educate cricketers, especially young ones, to ensure nobody has to go through what I have.”
Westfield’s attitude has definitely taken a turn in the opposite direction after he was furious at being forced to appear for Kaneria’s appeal hearing.
“No one else has given me any support despite all the promises a year ago,” he said in April. “I am here to bring to an end the pain and suffering that I am forced to continuously suffer, and in the hope that after today my family and I will never be subjected to the humiliation and hurt we have gone through in the last three years.”