• New Zealand

McCullum confident in ICC despite leak

Brendon McCullum spoke to the media in Christchurch on Thursday and stood by his testimony to the ICC's anti-corruption investigators © Getty Images

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New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum has said he has confidence in the ICC's anti-corruption investigators despite his disappointment that his testimony has been leaked to the media.

Details of McCullum's statements to the ICC's anti-corruption unit were published by the Daily Mail earlier this week, including that he had turned down offers of up to $180,000 (£106,000) to underperform in matches. The ICC has reacted by serving an injunction against the paper in an effort to prevent further details of its investigation being published.

But despite the leak bringing intense media spotlight on to McCullum, he said would continue to help the ICC with its investigations and would encourage other players to do the same if they had been similarly approached. Speaking at a press conference in Christchurch, McCullum said he was unable to divulge any specifics regarding his testimony, but he stood by the statements he had made to the ICC.

"I'm obviously disappointed about that but there's nothing I can do about it," McCullum said. "I can't go into the specifics of what's going into the investigation or my involvement in it ... but I will continue to fulfil my role in the investigation. I guess from my point of view the dealings I've had with the group that I've dealt with, I have confidence. How the leak happened, I'm not sure but I have confidence in them."

The Daily Mail reported earlier this week that McCullum was first approached by a former player during the 2008 IPL season and again on New Zealand's tour of England later that year.

"There's still a long way to go. Obviously it had been a number of years and the next little while will probably be a bit tough but my role in the investigation is on-going," McCullum said. "The sport of cricket is a great sport which we're all very privileged to be involved in. Obviously there are a couple of circumstances that have tainted the game but the majority of people uphold the traditions of the game."

Asked what advice he would give any other New Zealand cricketers who came to him to report a match-fixing approach, he said: "There was no hesitancy in my faith in the ICC as such. If one of the players found themselves in the same situation then I would certainly encourage them to go the same route I chose."

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