So what, exactly, is the ICC going to do about the mess?

International cricket authorities have been loud on rhetoric, but short on specifics, in the countdown to the crucial Christchurch meeting to discuss the match-fixing and betting allegations, which have cast a pall over the game.

The corruption controversy broke when Australian test trio Shane Warne, Mark Waugh, and the now-retired Tim May accused former Pakistan captain Salim Malik of offering them bribes to play poorly during their 1994 tour of Pakistan.

The charges were dismissed by an inquiry, four years ago, but an interim report released by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in September recommended a fresh investigation into alleged match-fixing and bribery.

The issue was given a fresh twist last month when Warne and Waugh admitted taking money from an Indian bookmaker for information on pitch and weather conditions during a limited overs competition in Sri Lanka that preceded Australia's 1994 tour of Pakistan.

A press release from the ICC last month spoke of its ``utmost distress'' about the allegations and how they were damaging the very fabric of the game.

ICC president Jagmohan Dalmiya said the organisation would take a ``positive'' role to ensure the game retained its ``glory''.

``All possible available data'' would be collected before the Christchurch meeting, he said, and discussed thoroughly.

``If found necessary, a high-powered commission to investigate and inquire into the issue will also be considered.''

There was no word on exactly how a commission would be set up, and how it could even hope to scratch the surface of an issue obviously buried deep in the underground of shady bookmakers, backhander payments, and trans-continent telephone calls.

The ICC executive will probably introduce empowering legislation imposing life bans or long suspensions on players found guilty of being connected with illegal activities.

But there has been no acknowledgment that, under the current system, the ICC is virtually powerless to do anything, unless it has the support of its nine test-playing member countries.

And therein lies the biggest problem.

Since the ICC press release, the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman, Khalid Mahmood, has called for a life ban on Warne and Waugh.

Mahmood - apparently forgetting the problems on his own doorstep claims his call is supported by India and Sri Lanka and will be tabled in Christchurch, although neither of those countries has confirmed this.

Australian authorities have rejected the call, saying the pair have already been fined.

However, New Zealand Cricket chief executive Chris Doig said he understood that Mahmood was not calling for a ban and that his comments had been misinterpreted.

Retrospective legislation would appear unlikely to be introduced by the ICC.

Whatever the case, it will clearly not be easy to get the ICC member countries to reach agreement to get to the bottom of the whole messy affair, if they are all watching their own backs.

Australian newspaper journalist Malcolm Conn - who uncovered the Warne and Waugh bookmaking scandal last month, four years after the pair were fined by the Australian Cricket Board - says there is a ``fair bit of hope and a little bit of trepidation'' heading into this weekend's meeting.

``I will be interested to see how it does go because some of the delegates from some of the sub-continent countries will be wanting to look after themselves to a point,'' says Conn.

``I'm very concerned that the current Warne-Waugh bookie scandal will be used by the sub-continental nations to point the finger to say 'you blokes have got a problem, you shouldn't be pushing for something here, when you have to sort out your own backyard'.

``There are concerns that this will be used against Australia, instead of for the good of cricket.''

Conn says the idea of putting together a tribunal or review group to get to the bottom of the issue sounds great in theory, but he questions who will be involved and how it will work.

``How much autonomy will the countries give up?''

Conn says the nine test playing nations have to agree to give power to some sort of investigative body to get to the bottom of the allegations.

``There will be a lot of hedging and a lot of political doublespeak. I think it (this weekend's meeting) will move towards it, but I think, like anything else with the ICC, it will be a fairly slow and tedious process.''

He is worried that each country will be left to investigate its own affairs.

``There may be set penalties for certain offences. It will be up to home boards to implement these set penalties, which will then be looked at by a committee or a review from the ICC, who may decide if the action that's been taken is adequate.''

But for that to work, the ICC needs to strengthen its powers.

Conn cites the example of the ICC's lack of muscle over cases of bowlers with suspect actions.

An ICC panel will review a bowler's action and pass on reports and tapes to the bowler's home country - but there is no compulsion for the country to do anything.

``They don't have to if they don't want to. Hence Sri Lanka has taken no notice of anyone saying anything about any of their bowlers,'' says Conn. ``It's a joke.''

There is also the small point that any investigation done by a home country into match-fixing could well end up a whitewash.

It is well established that illegal betting on matches in the sub-continent is common.

Bookmakers reputedly handle sums approaching $NZ1 million on a major match between teams from that region.

It is inevitable that the bookie would want to have the odds in his favour by having as much inside knowledge as possible, such as weather and pitch conditions and team details. If they could take things a step further by buying players off to ensure certain outcomes, so much the better.

However, it is hard to prove players' involvement. Unless there is documentation of players being fined or caught - as there was in the Warne and Waugh case - it is virtually impossible to uncover.

While the ICC delegates are gathering in Christchurch, further evidence will be heard in the Pakistan probe with a Pakistani judge travelling to Australia to re-examine Warne and Waugh in light of the recent revelations.

A judgment on the matter is expected on January 16.

Conn says there has been a strong, positive reaction from The Australian newspaper's readers since he revealed the bookmaking scandal.

``The players are fine towards me. I thought I would be ostracised, but I wasn't. I haven't spoken to Mark Waugh since, but I have spoken to Warney and he is quite civil. He's doing his best to repair his image and his career.''

Conn says life bans and other such penalties are not the main issue. ``The main issue is the political will to set up something that is going to get to the bottom of all this.''