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BASSETERRE, St Kitts - As rumours swirl around the Caribbean that murdered Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer was the victim of a hit by "betting mafia" figures, South African team manager Goolam Raja revealed today a player had been approached by an Indian bookmaker.
Raja would not name the player but Johan Botha, Albie Morkel and Justin Ontong are the only three absent from the current World Cup squad who toured with the team in India two years ago when the incident occurred.
"It wasn't money. It was purely what is the team tomorrow?," Raja said today on the eve of the Group A clash between Australia and the world No 1-ranked side in St Kitts (played Sunday AM NZ time).
"In the past we would easily say, 'Joe Soap is not playing', but no longer. 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.
"But nothing happened other than that one phone call and it was passed on to the International Cricket Council (ICC).
"We were told not to worry and that it was an innocent call.
"That is the protocol. If a player is approached, he has to let us know immediately because we have a system for dealing with it."
South African and world cricket were rocked by the Hansie Cronje match-fixing revelations of 2000 and it has left a marked effect on the team.
"The players are aware that there are people out there who are interested in finding out things we know, and the players are more cautious," Raja said.
"Sometimes we took things for granted in the past, because we never thought that these things would happen.
"The players will always tell me where they're going. If it's golf or up the river or fishing, I will know."
Woolmer's death by strangulation last weekend, the day after Pakistan's shock World Cup Group D loss to Ireland in Jamaica, has been reportedly linked with his plans to write a book exposing cricket corruption.
Woolmer's family today denied this, saying in a statement: "Contrary to reports, we can confirm there is nothing in any book Bob has written that would explain this situation."
- AAP
