Former England supremo Ray Illingworth has revealed how he was once approached over a proposed match-fixing coup.

The Yorkshireman has finally opened up over an incident which happened almost four years ago following the controversy surrounding former South Africa skipper Hansie Cronje.

Illingworth, who lives in Farsley, said: "I was offered money by a Pakistani to throw our match against them in Karachi when I was manager of the England cricket team in the 1996 World Cup.

"Frankly, Hansie Cronje's confession of dishonesty has destroyed my faith in human nature. For a man so devoted to cricket to succumb to such a temptation is very sad. But I know how insistent the pressure can be."

Cricket's leading figures today called for a comprehensive inquiry into the sordid world of betting and match-fixing in the aftermath of Cronje's shock dismissal as captain of South Africa.

Cronje, regarded as a figurehead of South Africa's impressive progress since emerging from isolation, was sacked yesterday after admitting to being "dishonest" to authorities over match-fixing claims.

He subsequently denied receiving around 10-15,000 US dollars from a bookmaker for "providing information and forecast, but not match-fixing" - a claim made by Dr Ali Bacher, the managing director of the United Cricket Board of South Africa.

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