Richardson, who became chief executive on July 1, said cricket was confronting a “war” against corruption and the ICC was aware that the bookmakers were now targeting domestic Twenty20 leagues as a result of a tightening of security and education of international players by the anti-corruption and security unit (ACSU).

“It is everybody now unfortunately: everybody is susceptible, the curators, the groundsmen,” Richardson said at the unveiling of the ICC Champions Trophy, which will be hosted in England in the summer of 2013. “At international level, whether it is a bilateral series or whether it is an ICC event, the attention to that aspect of the world game is at the same level every time we walk out onto the field so to speak.

On October 8, India TV, a privately-owned Indian television channel, exposed details of the sting operation, which was carried out by undercover reporters. Nadir Shah (Bangladesh), Nadeem Ghauri and Anis Siddiqui (Pakistan), and Sagara Gallage, Maurice Winston Zilwa and Gamini Dissanayake (Sri Lanka) were the six umpires named in the sting. Shah was the only one who met the reporters in person in Delhi, while the rest carried out the interactions via Skype. Though all the umpires denied any wrongdoing on their part, their respective boards decided to suspend them pending investigations.

Richardson said although the ICC was not empowered like the police to arrest anyone, the ACSU had been strengthened recently to make it more effective and install the required mechanism to arrest corrupt elements to breach barriers.

In the past, it has been suggested that the ICC could run an undercover operation of its own in an effort to stamp out corruption. However, Richardson defended the ACSU, saying it had acquired more teeth and was much more pro-active protecting the game, players and officials from corrupt elements.