UPDATE 2-Cricket-Jayawardene takes legal advice over TV claim

(Adds ITN statement in para 11, team manager quote in para 12,13)

By Shihar Aneez and Ranga Sirilal

COLOMBO, March 1 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka batsman Mahela Jayawardene has taken legal advice over doubts raised on a state-run TV channel about the way he and another batsman performed in the World Cup defeat by Pakistan.

Sri Lanka, who are one of the favourites to win the tournament, lost Saturday's Pakistan game by 11 runs as Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera were out for just two runs and one run respectively when the team was trying to accelerate the run rate against the powerful Pakistan bowling.

State-owned Independent Television Network (ITN) in an analytical documentary aired on Sunday criticised several Sri Lankan players including Jayawardene and Samaraweera for their poor performance.

Jayawardene when asked about the allegations before the Kenya match said he had consulted his lawyers over the matter.

"The lawyers will decide what proper course of action should be taken," he told Reuters.

ITN also accused a businessman of betting 2 million rupees ($18,053) on Pakistan's victory without giving any further details.

In a statement, Sri Lanka Cricket later condemned the programme for "carrying a story that is baseless and thereby demoralising our players during the ongoing World Cup".

"Sri Lanka Cricket will be taking this matter up with the relevant authorities of this channel, based on the fact that this channel has brought great distress to two of our national cricketers who have served Sri Lanka Cricket with honour and dignity throughout their illustrious careers so far."

ACCUSED BOTH

The ITN in its 'Vimasuma' (inquiry) programme accused both Jayawardene and Samaraweera of changing the game, which otherwise Sri Lanka would have won.

"We are now in second thoughts whether Mahela and Thilan actually 'changed the game'," the narrator of the programme said, adding that if both had scored 30 runs together, Sri Lanka would have won.

The ITN later issued a statement said: "We wish to express our deep concern if the contents of the programme had hurt both of them or any other party."

"Knowing Mahela and Thilan Samaraweera, we have no reason to doubt their integrity," Sri Lanka's team Anura Tennekoon told reporters after the Kenya match, which Sri Lanka won by nine wickets.

"Therefore we thought that it was not necessary to conduct an inquiry. ICC has a right to call for an inquiry, if they want."

Compared to their Asian neighbours, the 1996 World Cup champions have been relatively free from corruption and match-fixing scandals.

Last month, three Pakistan players were banned for a minimum of five years over allegations that they deliberately bowled no-balls (spot-fixing) against England last August.

That case has now been taken to sport's highest court of appeal, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

The game's governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), told Reuters on Tuesday that each of the 49 matches at the World Cup were "to some extent" scrutinised by an anti-corruption unit.

A spokesman explained that unless the unit, which keeps its deliberations secret, planned action against a team or individual then the ICC itself would not be informed.

Also on Tuesday, an agency story suggesting that Australia were under investigation for slow scoring in a win against Zimbabwe was dismissed by team officials as "laughable".

The ICC told Reuters they had heard nothing suggesting anything untoward.

(Editing by Jon Bramley; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)