Hunt for man in hotel bar who asked Aussies to ‘fix’ Ashes

The cricketer alerted team bosses after the "brief" conversation — in which neither money nor information was handed over — at the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington.

The International Cricket Council was investigating today and called in former Scotland Yard commissioner Lord Condon and his specialist squad of match-fixing investigators to find the man.

He is said to be known to authorities and already suspected of being part of a match-fixing ring. The approach was made after Australia had lost the Second Test at Lord's last month.

Tomorrow's final Test at the Oval between England and Australia will decide the fate of the Ashes. The series is tied 1-1 and England must win to reclaim the trophy.

Bookmakers estimate £10 million has already been staked on the match, much of it in large sums by professional gamblers.

The anti-corruption unit is trying to establish whether the suspect is linked to a syndicate thought to have targeted players with offers of bribes during the Twenty20 World Cup staged in England in June. City of London police may also be called in.

The Australian player, who has not been named, was in one of the hotel's bars when he was approached by the man and drawn into conversation.

Sources said it quickly became apparent to the cricketer what the man's interest was and the conversation did not go on long. It was then reported to team bosses, who raised the alarm with the ICC. A spokesman for the England team said that no England player had been approached during the Ashes or the World Twenty20.

The audacious approach serves as a reminder of the threat to the sport of corruption.

International cricket chiefs established their Anti-Corruption and Security Unit, headed by Lord Condon, after the Hansie Cronje scandal in 2000, when the South Africa captain admitted taking bribes from bookmakers for four years.

Cronje confessed to a judicial inquiry into the affair which was triggered by an investigation by Indian police. Cronje, who was banned for life, died in an air crash in 2002.

The shadow of match-fixing has returned with the rising popularity of the 20-over form of the game, which has provided illegal bookmakers with fresh opportunities to snare players.

A spokesman for the International Cricket Council said it was "content that all the World Twenty20 matches were clean" and that by contacting team management straight away, the player showed that its education programme is working.

"The issue is that we have the policies to try to ensure that we never go back to the times we were at a decade or so ago," the spokesman for the world governing body said.

"We are not complacent because the game these days is high profile and there is a lot of money at stake."