The International Cricket Council (ICC) yesterday dismissed corruption allegations against its president Jagmohan Dalmiya on the opening day of a two-day meeting in London to discuss the match-fixing crisis. Last Wednesday Arun Aggarwal, a financial adviser hired by Indian television to investigate the sale of sports rights, alleged Dalmiya had abused his position as sole negotiator for the ICC in the 1998 ICC knockout tournament.

At a media briefing yesterday ICC chief executive David Richards said there had been allegations in recent days over Dalmiya's involvement in the knockout tournament in Dhaka.

Richards said there had been four bidders for television rights to the tournament. Two bidders had been asked to re-bid and the revised bid of one of them had been accepted. "At no stage did Mr Dalmiya as ICC president get involved in those negotiations," Richards said.

The meeting at Lord's was convened after South Africa captain Hansie Cronje admitted on April 11th that he had taken up to £15,000 from a bookmaker during a triangular series with England and Zimbabwe in January. Cronje denied being involved in matchfixing.

Four days earlier Delhi police charged Cronje and team-mates Herschelle Gibbs, Pieter Strydom and Nicky Boje with involvement in match-fixing during a one-day series against India in March. All four deny the charges.

Menawhile, Cronje - after changing address twice in his home town of Bloemfontein - has taken refuge in a luxury £470,000 house on South Africa's south coast.