da esport bet： SA manager Goolam Raja says player was approached on 2005 tour of India, asked for line-up
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Goolam Raja said the news of Woolmer’s murder had not been as much of a shock to the South African players as the original news of his death © Getty Images
Goolam Raja, the South African manager, has revealed that one of his players was approached by a bookmaker during South Africa’s one-day tour of India in November 2005.Responding to a query about speculation that Bob Woolmer may have been about to write a book that lifted the lid on the match-fixing scandal, Raja admitted that there had been an “innocent” incident involving a member of his squad. Although he declined to name the player involved, Raja added that the player was not a member of the current World Cup party.”The question was just ‘What is the team tomorrow?’,” explained Raja.”In the past we would easily say, ‘Joe Soap is not playing’, but nolonger. Now we don’t announce the team, whether it is picked or not.”The players are trained to phone as soon as they’ve been approached, not to get into any discussion with these people, only to take their phone details and pass it onto the authorities. Nothing happened other than that one phone call.”That is the protocol. If a player is approached, he has to let usknow immediately because we have a system for dealing with it.”South African cricket still feels the scars of the Hansie Cronjescandal in 2000, although Raja insisted that the players were olderand wiser for the experience. “There’s a lot more awareness now thanthere was five years ago. The players are aware that there are peopleout there who are interested in finding out things we know, and theplayers are more cautious. Sometimes we took things for granted in thepast, because we never thought that these things would happen.”In the light of the murder investigation now underway in Jamaica, Rajasaid he would welcome heightened security for his players, even if itmeant more constraints on their freedom on tour. “Absolutely, if thereis one lesson that we’ve learnt, it is that you can’t have enoughsecurity,” said Raja. “We’ve made applications to beef up thesecurity, and ICC have assured us that that will be the case.”I think a lot of our players have experience of the subcontinent, andwhat we told them there is the same as what we’ve told them here. It’sa case of being vigilant. If you get a call or a knock on the doorfrom someone you don’t know, I’ve told them repeatedly to please letme know.”At the hotel, the presence of police and plain-clothes hasincreased,” he added. “Of course the central police officers aretrained to look out for people in the foyers of hotels, who notnecessarily don’t belong there, but look suspicious. They’ve beenasked to let us know.”Raja added that the news of Woolmer’s murder had not been as much of ashock to the players as the original news of his death. “The playerswere saddened to hear the circumstances of Bob’s death, it was such amacabre death, but the worse was when we first heard of it,” he said.”That was a total surprise but subsequently, like everyone else,we’ve been waiting for things to unfold.”
