It is not out of the question that cricket could one day mirror a Hollywood film - only without the laughs.

In Meet the Parents, Robert De Niro played a suspicious dad meeting his daughter's boyfriend.

The eager young man played by Ben Stiller, tries to impress his beau's parents, but in the process says and does everything wrong.

De Niro is the no-nonsense father, a former CIA agent, who humiliates Stiller by giving him a lie detector test.

For Stiller, read Australian footballer Mirko Jurilj or South African cricketer Hansie Cronje

For De Niro, read sport's administrators attempting to weed out the 'goodfellas' from the bad.

The International Cricket Council is considering the possible use of lie detector tests to help prevent future match-fixing scandals.

Chief executive Malcolm Speed revealed that in a survey of Test captains seeking their thoughts on the future of the game one response had included a request for "lie detector tests every six months for leading players, administrators and officials."

If the proposal is approved, the ICC would be following the lead of football authorities in Singapore, who introducted compulsory lie detector tests from next season following a number of fixing crises.

Jurilj was jailed for five months for accepting money to rig match results in the Singapore league.

With match-fixing allegations casting a shadow over cricket, the so-called 'truth tests' might serve as a warning to potential cheats.

They would also provide the governing bodies with ammunition when considering any penalties.

So far, former South Africa skipper Cronje, ex-Pakistan captain Salim Malik and former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin have been banned for life for their roles in match-fixing.

Some sporting stars facing cheating allegations see lie detector tests as an ideal chance to clear their names.

British athlete Linford Christie offered to take one after being hit by doping claims.

The problem, of course, is that the arguments are likely to go on even after such a test has been taken.

"You see people come out on television and say they can beat the test, others come out and say 'Yeah, it's 100 per cent accurate', so I guess with that sort of test, you never really know," said Australian batsman Greg Blewett.

Many tests are based around a polygraph machine which assesses reactions to specific questions.

Supporters say the suspect's responses are hard to disguise and provide a reliable guide to their worthiness.

But opponents suggest the biological reactions measured may not necessarily be prompted by lying.

Others see it as a civil liberties issue.

Perhaps the deterrent factor will be enough - the vision that someone like Robert De Niro is waiting...