Cricket groundsmen gagged in bid to thwart corruption by illegal bookmakers Gagged: Curators like the SCG's Tom Parker will no longer be able to go into detail about pitch conditions. Australia's ground curators have been silenced as cricket authorities ramp up the fight against match-fixing before a bumper summer culminating in the World Cup. Groundsmen at Australia's international venues spend much of the year far away from the spotlight but when the Test circuit turns up each year they all of a sudden become in demand as information is sought, particularly by the gambling community, on the pitch they have prepared and how, as a result, the match may pan out. From the SCG to the Adelaide Oval, they have traditionally spoken openly about the decks they have produced in the lead-up to matches. That is changing, however, hastened by an edict by the International Cricket Council issued before a home summer that spans five months from the limited-overs series against South Africa, Test campaign against India, the Twenty20 Big Bash League to the World Cup in February and March. Curators from around the country were flown to a meeting in New Zealand and told that under strengthening anti-corruption measures they are no longer permitted to provide detailed information about their pitches before matches. They will still be able to talk in general terms, but have been instructed not to offer specifics, such as delving into whether they would advise batting or bowling first or their beliefs on who the pitch might favour. Curators at the main grounds have become characters in their own right over the years. Before the first Test of each summer at the Gabba, for instance, Kevin Mitchell jnr and snr have been probed for their wisdom on the wicket they have cultivated and sought out by captains seeking advice on how the pitch will play. Traditionally, they are also asked in pre-match media huddles everything from whether the pitch suits pace or spin and have been more than willing to give their opinions. Their private and public utterances have been restricted under the guidelines, though, as part of a wider bid to limit the access to pitch information from people seeking to take advantage of it. The threat posed by illegal overseas bookmakers in a summer featuring the world's third largest sporting event has cricket chiefs braced with a counter-offensive that stretches far beyond their directive to groundsmen. With the World Cup in mind, the ICC last year signed a memorandum of understanding with the Australian Federal Police allowing information to be shared between the governing body's anti-corruption unit and the secretive agency. A similar arrangement is, reports in New Zealand say, is to be in place with police across the ditch, where there are six of the 14 World Cup venues. There is expected to be a strong focus on so-called "pitchsiders" attempting to take advantage of slight delays in the broadcast of games overseas by transmitting play-by-play data from their seats. Victoria Police in January investigated an incident in which a British man was using a laptop while watching a BBL game between Melbourne Renegades and Sydney Sixers at Etihad Stadium. And in the latest instance, Fairfax Media reported on Wednesday that two men were ejected from the second Test between Australia and Pakistan in Abu Dhabi and questioned about feeding information over mobile phones to illegal bookmakers.