Australian Champions’ fast bowler John Hastings has revealed that the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) approached him following his unusual 18-ball over against Pakistan Champions in the Legends League.
Last month, Hastings delivered an 18-ball over in the match, which included two instances of five consecutive wides. The former Australian pacer conceded a total of 20 runs in that over.
The bizarre event took place last month during a match against Pakistan Champions, where Hastings bowled an over that stretched to 18 balls. The over, which included two sets of five consecutive wide balls, ultimately cost a total of 20 runs. While the over was a talking point for cricket fans, it quickly drew the attention of anti-corruption officials.
Hastings disclosed that ACU representatives approached him after the match, telling him, "You put us in a lot of difficulty yesterday; we need to look into this matter.
“The fast bowler recounted his disbelief, asking the officials if they believed he was involved in match-fixing. While they said no, they did express concern, telling him, "We don't know where you've been for seven years and what you've been doing." He told them it was simply a difficult over to explain, but that he was not corrupt.
The fallout from the over wasn't limited to the ACU. Hastings revealed that he received countless messages from people in the cricket fraternity, and his social media was flooded with over 1.5 million messages.
The experience was so overwhelming that he shut down his accounts for three days. He described the ordeal as both "shameful" and "painful," noting that it occurred just as he was celebrating his official retirement from the sport after the match. Pakistan Champions went on to win that game by 10 wickets.
