Mervyn Westfield admits fixing charge

A former English county cricketer pleaded guilty on Thursday to taking money to fix part of a domestic match in 2009 in the latest "spot fixing" scandal to hit the sport. A British court jailed three Pakistani test cricketers in November for fixing parts of a test match in England in 2010 and this latest case will raise fresh concerns about connections between cricket and illegal gambling circles. Mervyn Westfield, who played for Essex, admitted agreeing to bowl in a way that would allow the scoring of 12 runs in his opening over in a 40-over match against Durham in September 2009. In the event, only 10 runs came off the over. Judge Anthony Morris told Westfield that he could be jailed when he is sentenced on Feb. 10, Britain's Press Association news agency reported. "It's open to the court in this case to pass an immediate custodial sentence," Morris told Westfield during a hearing at the Old Bailey, London's Central Criminal Court. Judge Morris said that the name of the other party involved in the deal would be known to cricket fans, but it was not revealed in court. Former England captain Mike Brearley said this week that eradicating corruption from the game was probably impossible but that was no reason to stop trying.