Essex player agreed to pull back on bowling so that a certain number of runs could be scored in one over during 2009 game
A former Essex County Cricket Club player has become the first English cricketer to be involved in on-field corruption.
Mervyn Westfield, 23, pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey in London to corruption on Thursday for the part he played in a betting scam and was warned by the judge he could face imprisonment.
The court heard that the fast bowler had been paid £6,000 to give away runs during a NatWest Pro40 one-day game between Essex and Durham in September 2009.
Adjourning sentence until 10 February, Judge Anthony Morris told him: "I hold out no promises to you as to the eventual outcome of the case. It is open to the court in this case to pass an immediate custodial sentence."
Cricket authorities and the Crown Prosecution Service are not commenting on the case until after Westfield has been sentenced. But the conviction it is likely to cause much soul-searching in the domestic game, coming so soon after the international corruption scandal involving three Pakistani players at a Lords test match with England in 2010.
Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt were last year given prison sentences and playing bans after an exposé by the now closed News of the World. A businessman was also jailed.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has set up its own anti-corruption unit and its head, Chris Watts, told the BBC in December it would be "naive" to think that county cricket had not been affected by corruption. "That's possibly where the threat may lie at the moment," he said.
Earlier this week, the MCC at Lord's, still regarded as the guardian of the game, while not its rule setter, recommended to the International Cricket Council's anti-corruption and security unit that life playing bans be introduced in the worst corruption cases.
The Old Bailey heard that Westfield agreed to bowl the first over so that 12 runs could be scored, but only 10 were achieved. His barrister Mark Milliken-Smith QC said; "A certain amount of runs were supposed to be given away in the first over that was bowled. They were not." But Westfield had confessed to a fellow player, the court was told.
Westfield admitted receiving "numerous approaches" to concede runs in return for money and was asked to fix a game.
Nigel Peters QC, prosecuting, told an earlier hearing: "The first approach was before the Pro40 game with Somerset in the 2009 series. He was approached to fix a game."
Police arrested the Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria who also played for Essex at the same time as Westfield. He was released in September without charge and denies any involvement in corruption.
Westfield, who no longer plays for Essex, had been accused of breaking the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906 by accepting payments to "bowl in a manner calculated and intended to allow the scoring of runs".
Another charge of breaking the Gambling Act 2005 by "assisting another to cheat" was allowed to remain on file. This means there was no verdict on the charge but proceedings have not been formally terminated.
Westfield is the first professional cricketer in England to face prosecution for his involvement in spot fixing in a county cricket match, Essex Police said. The case also involved the first use of the prevention of corruption legislation within the context of a sporting event, the force said.
Detective Sergeant Paul Lopez of Essex police said: "We hope that this sends a strong message to professional sportsmen and women around the country – if they intend to get involved in spot fixing, or think that match fixing is not a crime, then they need to think again."
Angus Porter, chief executive of the Professional Cricketers' Association, said: "I am not sure that court cases necessarily are very helpful but the fact that he has admitted to the crime can only act as a signal to others that sport needs to be treated with respect and played properly."
The former England captain turned commentator Nasser Hussein told Sky Sports News: "[The ECB should] use him [Westfield], take him around to counties, do a video with him. [They should] use him as an example for future generations of cricketers that if you do get a call in your room saying 'bowl a bad over and we will give you £6,000', this is what happens to you.."