New Zealand Primer Minister John Key believes that the ongoing match-fixing scandal surrounding cricket would in no way disrupt the staging of the ICC World Cup in his country and Australia next year.
New Zealand's suitability to stage the World Cup matches in February and March is reportedly being questioned, as the country's former players Chris Cairns, Lou Vincent and Daryl Tuffey are involved in an anti-corruption investigation by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
According to Stuff.co.nz, Key said that he feels that if these allegations are proven to be correct then they would reflect very badly on the individuals and there would be some serious consequences as a result of that.
However, the Prime Minister added that he would be very surprised if it stops anyone coming to the Cricket World Cup.
Key said that New Zealand is the host of a sport that is loved all around the world, adding that while he feels that the nation has been acknowledged through other instances that there has been illegal activity in cricket, but that reflects on the individuals and not on the country as co-hosts with Australia.
Key further said that he does not know if the match-fixing issues would be resolved by the time the World Cup is hosted in early 2015 as it is a very complex issue that will have to go through a process of proper justice.