Samuels found guilty…

Faces two year ban

marlon samuels (left) chats with devon smith at the bay gardens beach resort duringa cocktal reception on monday april 14th 2008 (photo - robertson s. henry)

Marlon Samuels, the stylish and skilful right-handed West indies middle order

batsman has been found guilty of having breached the ICC's Code of Conduct.

The charge carries a minimum sentence of a two-year ban, and the Disciplinary

Panel has recommended that Samuels be given a suspended sentence because

of good behavior.

Following is the full text of the West Indies Cricket Board press release.

“The Disciplinary Committee of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB),

having heard and deliberated on the charges laid against Mr. Marlon

Samuels, found by majority opinion that Mr. Samuels was guilty of

violating the ICC Rules of Conduct 4 ix in that he “received money, benefit

or other reward which could bring him or the game of cricket into

disrepute.” 

“This violation carries a minimum two-year ban which is effective from

May 9, 2008, the date of the hearing.  The Committee dismissed a second

charge that “Mr. Samuels engaged in conduct which, in the opinion of the

Executive Board, relates directly or indirectly to the Rules of Conduct i.e. (i)

to (xiii) and is prejudicial to the interests of the game of cricket.”   

“The panel for the hearing, Mr. Justice Adrian Saunders (Chair), Dr. Lloyd

Barnett, Professor Aubrey Bishop and Mr. Richie Richardson, has written to

the President of the WICB, the Honourable Dr. Julian R. Hunte, expressing

concern about the propriety of prescribing mandatory minimum

punishments generally and particularly for the specific offence with which

Mr. Samuels was charged.  The Committee stated that “given the

circumstances that attended Mr. Samuels’ commission of the offence and in

light of the unchallenged evidence we received as to Mr. Samuels’

character, if we had the power so to recommend we would have

recommended that Mr. Samuels be bound over to be of good behaviour for

a period not exceeding two years.”

“The Panel has promised that reasoned written decisions will follow

shortly.  In the meantime, the decision and recommendations of the Panel

have been sent to the ICC.”

Samuels faced the West Indies board (WICB) Ethics and Disciplinary Committee

on Friday in Saint Lucia to answer charges of inappropriate conduct relating to

the investigation into his alleged connections with an Indian bookmaker.

Verbatim transcript from Nagpur police records

Below is the transcript of the conversation the Nagpur police say that  took place

between Marlon Samuels and Mukesh Kochar, before the India-West Indies

match at Nagpur on January 21, 2007.

Samuels was staying in Room 206 of the Pride Hotel in the city.

The transcript is verbatim from the police records:

Bookie: Connect to 206

Reception: 206, sir?

Bookie: Yes

Rec: Hello, room no 206, Marlon

Bookie: Hello, how are you Marlon?

206: not clear

Bookie: Just relax buddy

206: Just relax

Bookie: Hello my son, that's way I am here, came for my some work and

am held up

206: OK

Bookie: Tomorrow night I am going back

206: OK

Bookie: So how are things with you and how is the preparation?

206: Preparation is good enough

Bookie: Well, wish you all the best

206: Thanks

Bookie: You play well

206: (Not clear) Talking to Robinson

Bookie: Robinson...Yes

206: Yes, our fielding well

Bookie: Ya, good that's a high-scoring game

206: Early in the morning... Batting move around the pitch...

Bookie: an in the evening lower down

206: Slow down...

Bookie: What you think that, who will bat...

206: Well...

Bookie: Who, who?

206: Dwayne (not clear) He's is making a debut tomorrow...

Bookie: New batsman, bowlers...

206: All-rounder...

Bookie: He are a good player...

206: Making debut

Bookie: Ya, I can understand that Chris is in form...

206: (Not clear)...

Bookie: And how is your batting going on?

206: My batting is good...

Bookie: Big... a... tall score tomorrow

206: (Not clear)

Room no 206: (not clear)

Bookie: When do you get down to bowl

206: (not clear)

Bookie: Which over you will be bowling

206: One down

Bookie: Normally after 17th or 18th over

206: By tomorrow... (not clear) than I can bowl... (not clear)

Bookie: He is seamer or spinner

206: Seamer

Bookie: He is a seamer, who will start bowling tomorrow

206: Dwayne

Bookie: Dwayne

206: Dwayne, tail and Bradshaw

Bookie: Tail and Bradshaw, they will open. You will be as the third bowler

206: Jerome Taylor, Chris Gayle will be 4th and 5th bowling

Bookie: You have got a nice allrounder team now

Bookie: As a first match, I want you to play well confident and don't hurry

up, don't give the catches, play well, consolidate your position as well as

possible if even if you can want couple of balls, it doesn't matter, don¹t get

run out.. don't get excited, have a strong position

206: (not clear)

Bookie: After this you guys going to Cuttack, that's another place

206: (not clear)

Bookie: I am going back, we will be in touch with you

206: Most welcome

Bookie: Whenever you come back to Bombay? Most probably may be I will

come there for one or two days

206: I want to stay there for couple of days

Bookie: Yeah, after (not clear)

206: Yeah

Bookie: Let me know I am flying back tomorrow

206: Not yet

Bookie: Yeah my flight (not clear) O'clock & from their I will fly back to

Bombay

206: (not clear)

Bookie: Thank you very much chief

206: (not clear)

Bookie: All the best, after this I will have to work

206: (not clear)

Bookie: Ok good 

End of conversation

Samuels had hired the services of two top Jamaican lawyers, K. Churchill Neita

and Delano Harris to represent him, following an in internal WICB investigation

into bribery allegations, which found enough evidence to charge him with

misconduct.

The investigation was led by Jamaican attorney Derek Jones, after the

International Cricket Council told the West Indies Cricket Board to hold its own

investigation into Samuels actions while West Indies were in India in January

and February 2007, prior to the World Cup.

The ICC said the report from the anti corruption and security unit contained

allegations that Samuels was involved with "inappropriate activity" and acted in

a manner that "prejudicial to the interests of the game of cricket".

The Nagpur police ahead of the one-day international between India and West

Indies taped phone conversations between Samuels and an alleged Indian

bookmaker on January 21. Samuels have always denied any wrongdoing, and

the WICB backed him pending the investigation.

The committee, chaired by Justice Adrian Saunders, also includes Richie

Richardson and Courtney Walsh as player representatives. However, Walsh, who

is president of Melbourne Cricket Club in Jamaica, Samuels’ local team, made

himself unavailable from the hearing for conflict-of-interest reasons.

Despite the hearing, which hangs over his head, Samuels has been named in

West Indies' 17-man training squad for the Australia series. With three players

involved in the IPL - Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Dwayne Bravo and Ramnaresh

Sarwan - are not included and neither is injured captain Chris Gayle.