Cricket South Africa (CSA) said Saturday they have charged former batsman Alviro Petersen with match fixing following a lengthy and ongoing investigation. Petersen, 35, captain of Highveld Lions, has been charged with multiple breaches of CSA's anti-corruption code. The charges include "contriving to fix or otherwise improperly influence matches during the 2015 Ram Slam (national Twenty20 competition)".
The South African batsman, who played for Lancashire last season, has been provisionally suspended and has 14 days to respond to the charges. Gulam Bodi, Jean Symes, Pumelela Matshikwe, Ethy Mbhalati and Thami Tsolekile were all handed lengthy bans by CSA earlier this year for their part in attempting to fix Ram Slam matches.
Petersen previously played for English county sides Glamorgan, Essex and Somerset, before joining Lancashire as a non-overseas player after he retired from internationals in 2015. Petersen had a highly respectable Test career, scoring 2,093 runs at an average of 34.88 in 36 Tests.
He made a century on his Test debut against India in Kolkata during the 2009-10 season and formed a successful opening partnership with former captain Graeme Smith. Petersen hit five Test centuries, with a highest score of 182 against England in Leeds in 2012. He captained the Johannesburg-based Lions franchise for two seasons. After retiring from international cricket in 2015, he continued to play with success for the Lions and for English county Lancashire, while forging a reputation as a television and radio commentator and a newspaper columnist.
In the latter capacity, he was a persuasive advocate for racial transformation in cricket, stating that black players needed to be given opportunities and to be nurtured. He was classified as 'black' in South African racial terms, coming from the mixed-race Gelvandale area of Port Elizabeth. He set up the Alviro Petersen Foundation in 2013 with the aim of improving the lives of disadvantaged communities. The foundation includes a cricket school.
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