Anthony Foster, Freelance Writer

Marlon Samuels

Jamaica and West Indies middle order batsman Marlon Samuels is facing at least a two-year ban from all cricket.

In a release yesterday the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) said its disciplinary committee found by "majority opinion" at a hearing last Friday that 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."

Under the International Cricket Council (ICC) rules, Samuels' violation carries a minimum two-year ban which is effective from May 9, 2008, the date of the hearing.

The decision has been forwarded to the ICC.

According to spokesman Brian Murgatroyd, the ICC will decide if the two-year ban recommended is satisfactory.

Power of the enquiry

"It would go to an enquiry, which is headed by the chairman of the ICC's code of conduct commission Michael Beloff Q.C. and a few of the members who are a part of the commission who are not related to the WICB ...

"All they do is assess the penalty if it's appropriate, whether it's too lenient or whatever it may be," he said while pointing out that in this particular instance, the minimum ban is two years.

"I cannot speculate on what the official enquiry will say, but obviously it doesn't have the power to reduce the punishment," he added while saying the final decision on the ban will be known when the ICC board meets on July 2.

Murgatroyd added that Samuels would not be able to play in any cricket "official or unofficial" during the period of suspension.

In February 2007, Nagpur police claimed that they had tapes of Samuels passing on information to an alleged bookie on the eve of the West Indies' first one day international against India in the city on January 21, 2007.

In a letter to the Board of Control for Cricket in India, vice-president Shashank Manohar and the International Cricket Council, Nagpur police chief S. P. S. Yadav gave details about the telephone conversation.

Samuels who has played 29 Test matches, scoring 1408 runs at an average of 28.73, was allowed to play in the last year's World Cup while investigations continued, but was subsequently charged by the WICB disciplinary committee.

The 27-year-old right-handed batsman, has denied any wrongdoing. At Friday's hearing the disciplinary committee dismissed a second charge which alleged that Samuels engaged in conduct which is prejudicial to the interests of the game of cricket.

Panel concerns

The release added that the panel of Mr Justice Adrian Saunders (Chair), Dr Lloyd Barnett, Professor Aubrey Bishop and Richie Richardson, has written to the president of the WICB, Dr Julian R. Hunte, expressing concern about the propriety of prescribing mandatory minimum punishments generally and particularly for the specific offence with which 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.