As part of the expansion of Test cricket to include newer nations like Afghanistan, Ireland, and Zimbabwe's return, the ICC's Anti-Corruption Unit raised concerns about the vulnerability of these matches to fixing. The combination of lower media scrutiny, reduced oversight, and betting markets that covered all international cricket created opportunities for fixers.
Several Test matches involving lower-ranked nations produced suspicious scoring patterns and results that attracted the attention of the ACU. While no specific charges were publicly brought, the ACU acknowledged that it was monitoring matches closely and that intelligence suggested fixing networks were targeting these fixtures.
The concern was not limited to results fixing. Spot-fixing, where individual passages of play are pre-determined, was considered a more significant threat. Bookmakers could create markets on specific overs or sessions, and players in lower-ranked teams, who often received significantly less pay than their counterparts in established nations, were more vulnerable to approaches.
The ICC responded by deploying ACU officials to all Test matches and providing enhanced anti-corruption education to players from newer Test nations. The organization also worked with betting companies to monitor unusual betting patterns on matches involving lower-ranked teams. The issue remained an ongoing challenge as Test cricket continued to expand.