Johannesburg - Former Lions seam bowler, Pumelela Matshikwe, was handed a six-year jail sentence - suspended for five years - for his involvement in the 2015 match-fixing scandal in the Ram Slam T20 tournament.
Matshikwe, 37, is the second player after Gulam Bodi to be convicted for the contravention of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities (PRECCA) Act. Bodi pleaded guilty to eight charges of corruption in 2018 and the following year he was sentenced to five years in jail.
Matshikwe, the former Lions and South Africa A fast bowler, was one of six players to be handed lengthy suspensions by CSA's anti-corruption unit back in 2016. He was suspended for 10 years from all cricket.
Matshikwe has worked with Cricket SA’s anti-corruption drive in recent years and was praised last year during the Social Justice and Nation Building hearings, for his role in assisting in educating young players about the dangers of getting involved with match fixing.
“He has redeemed himself. He’s gotten involved in education (about match fixing). He’s restored his reputation somewhat,” David Becker, who headed up the match fixing investigation, told the SJN last year.
Matshikwe was banned in 2016 for: receiving a payment or incentive to fix or contrive to influence improperly a match or matches in the 2015 Ram Slam; making a payment which in the circumstances would bring the sport of cricket into disrepute; failing to disclose to the CSA Anti-Corruption officer a payment which they knew or ought to have known was given to them to procure a breach of the Code; failing to disclose details of an approach to engage in corrupt conduct and failing to disclose full details of matters evidencing a breach of the Code by another participant.
Thami Tsolekile, Jean Symes, Lonwabo Tsotsobe Ethy Mbhalati and Alviro Petersen were all banned for their roles in the saga.
IOL Sport