Dec 30th, 2016

Dec 30th, 2016

Former England Test star Kevin Pietersen believes corruption in cricket will never be fully stamped out as fresh reports of bookmakers targeting young Australian cricketers emerge.

NewsCorp reported on Friday that Australian cricketers on the verge of making it to national squads and the Big Bash League are being targeted by bookmakers via social media as they seek information on squads and playing conditions.

Pietersen said he wasn't surprised to hear the practice still occurs, pointing towards the case of former South Africa Test batsman Alviro Petersen, who has just received a two-year ban for attempting to cover up match fixing by others, as what things can escalate to.

"Are we going to stop it? I don't think we're going to," Pietersen said.

"Whenever there's television the reality is it's going to be there. But I think Cricket Australia does as good a job as any nation around the world in trying to combat it.

"(Governing bodies) tell the players all the stories, they talk about how approaches are made - everything that goes on with it.

"So if you are one of those players that gets approached and you make the stupid decision to go down the wrong avenue then you've just got to belt them away from cricket.

"It really irritates me, it annoys me. I practice as hard as I can ... and I've got expectation to perform on my shoulders.

"I know that I do it to the best of my ability, day in and day out, and it really pisses me off when I see people taking shortcuts.

"If people start taking shortcuts for a bit of cash it annoys me."

Cricket Australia issued a statement in response to the report reiterating their hard-line stance on corruption.

"We are well aware of various methods that can be used to bring the integrity of the game into question and combat these in a proactive way," a Cricket Australia spokesperson said.

"While there's been no specific evidence or links suggested to Australian cricket, no one can afford to be complacent about these issues and we need to remain vigilant.

"Cricket Australia takes a zero-tolerance approach against anybody trying to bring the game's credibility into disrepute."

Pietersen, speaking ahead of his first BBL match of the season for the Melbourne Stars, said he had never been contacted by shady bookies in his career but had heard "scary" stories about how such approaches are made.

©AAP2016