Cricket-Zimbabwe's Taylor banned over money received from spot-fixers-ICC

(Reuters) - Former Zimbabwe batsman Brendan Taylor has been banned from all cricket for 3-1/2 years after admitting he received a $15,000 "deposit" for spot-fixing, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Friday.

Taylor said he was blackmailed and never went through with the arrangement and that he was coerced into accepting the money from an Indian businessman in October 2019.

Spot-fixing refers to manipulation of part of a game to deliver a given outcome for betting purposes.

The 35-year-old added that it took him four months to report the incident to the ICC anti-corruption unit because he feared for his safety.

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In addition to four breaches of the ICC anti-corruption code, Taylor was also charged with breaching the anti-doping code after testing positive for the stimulant benzoylecognine, a cocaine metabolite, in an in-competition test conducted on Sep. 8 2021.

"Brendan is a former international captain who represented Zimbabwe for 17 years," ICC integrity unit general manager Alex Marshall said.

"Over such a long career, he participated in numerous