Former Lions seamer Pumelela Matshikwe gets jail sentence for match-fixing

Former Lions seamer Pumelela Matshikwe has been given a six-year jail sentence. Five of the six years have been suspended.

The sentence is for Matshikwe’s role in match-fixing during the Ram Slam T20 Challenge in South Africa in 2015.

His conviction follows last week’s plea agreement with the state in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crime Court.

Matshikwe played semi-professional and professional cricket from 2009 to 2016 – and made 77 first-class, 57 List A and 24 T20 appearances. He also represented South Africa A.

He was banned from cricket for 10 years in 2016, for:

“Receiving a payment or incentive to fix or contrive to influence improperly a match or matches in the 2015 Ram Slam T20 Challenge;

“Making a payment which in the circumstances would bring the sport of cricket into disrepute;

“Failing to disclose to the CSA anti-corruption officer a payment which they knew or ought to have known was given to them to procure a breach of the code; and

“Failing to disclose details of an approach to engage in corrupt conduct and failing to disclose full details of matters evidencing a breach of the code by another participant.”