by Our Sports Desk

England captain Alastair Cook is “incredibly worried” about the spectre of spot-fixing which continues to “cheapen” his sport.

Cook’s concerns were published yesterday — hours after reports appeared that New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum provided the International Cricket Council with testimony of a historic attempt by an unnamed, high-profile player to lure him into spot-fixing with a £100,000-plus offer.

Cook has never been targeted but is frustrated nonetheless by the curse of spot-fixing.

“You know the tell-tale signs,” he said.

“But you can always do more, can’t you, if it is still going on now? It is a worry.”

Cook played in the Lord’s Test of 2011 in which Pakistan players later admitted to an attempted spot-fixing scam for which they were banned and convicted.

“I’ve been involved already in a high-profile game which has been changed by [corrupt practices], and it cheapens the sport.

“It’s frustrating because you know how much hard work you’ve done in cricket — and you trust that all the other professionals have done the same.”