Cricket: Cork `victim of dirty tricks'

DOMINIC CORK claims a Derbyshire insider is orchestrating a dirty tricks campaign against him.

His comment resulted from a report in a national newspaper yesterday in which it was alleged Cork had been reported to Lord's for abusing Trevor Bowring, the Derbyshire committee man who yesterday became the new chairman of the troubled county.

Cork said Derbyshire had confirmed that he had not been reported to Lord's. "There now seems to be a dirty tricks campaign against me from somewhere within the club," he said. "This has resulted in callers phoning a local radio phone-in criticising me under false names. I have clearly indicated that this whole affair is about the authority the club chairman, at a press conference, gave me when I took over the role as captain. This authority has been subsequently both taken away and undermined.

"If this article is unsubstantiated I will be asking Derbyshire to investigate internally and will be taking legal advice."

In the story it was alleged that an incident occurred when Cork confronted Bowring after the businessman had spoken about the club's internal problems on a local radio phone-in. The newspaper said the England paceman was accused of publicly swearing and calling Bowring "a liar".

Cork has been in the headlines since Christmas because of a power struggle at the club and has threatened to leave.