Essex cricket captain Ronnie Irani has admitted he has been interviewed by police over alleged match-fixing while playing for England - but stressed his innocence.

The Essex skipper revealed he and his county colleague, England captain Nasser Hussain, were among the Test and one-day international players who were interviewed en bloc by detectives at the end of last season.

Irani said on Tuesday: "It came right out of the blue and was a massive shock to me. I was interviewed by a detective from New Scotland Yard and it frightened the life out of me.

"I had just returned home after playing in a charity football match which was refereed by TV celebrity Jeremy Beadle.

"I immediately thought it was a wind-up and told the guy: 'pull the other one it's got bells on'. When he responded: 'Mr Irani, this is a very serious matter' I knew he wasn't joking.

"And when he explained to me the kind of betting and big money involved I realised there is an ugly underworld tarnishing our game."

Irani, renowned around the county circuit for his sportsmanship, fierce competitiveness and will to win said: "We cannot sit back and allow this to go on.

"It is very sad that cricket has been tarnished in this way. We must quickly get to the bottom of this corruption and stamp out those responsible for it."

A Scotland Yard spokeswoman said: "We do not reveal who we speak to and cannot give any guidance other than to point out investigations are being carried out by the Metropolitan Police."

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