Cricket chief to miss match-fixing meeting

Dalmiya's mother died in India and he has remained there in mourning, meaning a stand-in chairman will be required for a meeting which could be the most important in the ICC's history.

New Zealand's representative, Sir John Anderson, said the replacement chairman was likely to be Dalmiya's predecessor in the role, Sir Clyde Walcott of the West Indies.

``It's a bit of a tragedy he cannot be here, but we will try for a video link-up,'' Anderson said.

Dalmiya was a strong supporter of action being taken against match-fixing and bribery and issued a strongly-worded statement about getting the ICC executive to deal with the matter when it met in Christchurch.

Anderson said New Zealand's stance on the issue was clear.

``Our board wants the highest moral standards and ethics in the game and will support whatever policy comes out of that,'' he said.

He said it was likely the ICC would present a united front on the issue and would establish the structure and processes for dealing with any cricketer found guilty of being involved in betting or bribery.

Anderson felt it was unlikely the present dispute between the Pakistani and Australian boards over Shane Warne and Mark Waugh taking money from a bookmaker for pitch and team details could be legislated against retrospectively.

``The matter was dealt with at the time, fines imposed and the ICC informed. No fresh evidence appears to have come to light to reopen that matter,'' he said.