The revelations made in the last 48 hours has sent shock waves throughout the cricketing world and has been without a shadow of doubt one of the darkest hours of the game. Ever since the late 1990's cricket has always been under the cloud of suspicion of match-fixing. Ever since that fateful day in 2000 when Hansie Cronje admitted that he was involved in match-fixing for a mere $10,000, all hell broke lose, and the game that was once called the gentleman's game came under heavy skepticism and disrepute. Now after a decade of relative calm from the match-fixing beast, it has resurfaced yet again showing it's ugly head. The same stigma has now caused the cricketing world into a state of shell shock and sadness.
The Pakistan team has come under a lot of criticism and has been in a distressed and turbulent state for quite some time now. Ever since the terror attack in Pakistan, rebelling of senior players in the series in Australia, ball tampering and banning some senior players, Pakistan has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. But all those bar the terror attacks seems insignificant now considering what has happened in the last two days.
Match-fixing or rather spot-fixing as it is the case here, is the most vilest offense a player can commit. He not only shames the uniform and the country he plays for, but most of all he let's down himself and this beautiful game. The worst thing that a player can be accused of is match-fixing. It not only questions a player's commitment and his ethics but also taints the game beyond repair. This is a serious crime and simply cannot be pardoned.
I love what Iain O' Brien said about the people fixing. He said, "To all those who think it's easy to deliberately bowl a no-ball or a wide. It's not. You've got to leave all you respect for yourself and this great game at the gate.", and that's exactly what the Pakistani players have done. They have let themselves down and most of all forgot what the game means to them.
I was shocked when I saw the names that were published as part of this fixing scandal. Just a few weeks ago, Salman Butt took over the helm from Afridi and Pakistan looked to be heading for some brighter days. With a new captain and young stalwarts by the name of Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif, the team showed signs of a new Pakistani team and a beginning of a new era. But now, just a few weeks since then, they have failed to live up to that huge promise of resurrecting from the debris and find themselves in a huge abyss. Mohammad Amir, and Mohammad Asif were regarded as the best Pakistan new ball bowlers in the last decade in the few moments they played together, and were looked upon as the new generation of Waquar and Wasim. But unfortunately all that talent is now a colossal waste. Two youngsters, one making his mark and another making his comeback captured the world's imagination, but now the story unfortunately ends for them. Amir a lad of just 17 is involved in this mess. He was the next biggest thing in cricket and probably one of the finest players Pakistan has produced in the past decade or so. He was gifted abudently and had the ability to make the ball adhere to his wish. Such talent now goes rotting and it's time for Asif to face the music. The youngest man to get 50 test wickets now faces his career being cut short and a life of shame. Pity it must end for him like this.
I praised the PCB when it took steps to take action against the players who rebelled during the Australian tour. Yunus Khan, and Yousuf were banned and a few others were given a lighter sentence. This showed a failed administration trying to prove itself and do something, but within a month, the sentences delivered had been reversed and the players were back playing for the country. This shows the very failed nature of administration in Pakistan. Now the offense is a much bigger one and the punishment imposed also must be.
The ICC and the PCB must act clinically and stub out this weed instantly. They must make an example of this situation. All the players found guilty must never again touch the willow or bowl a ball. They should be banned indefinitely and more so abide by the ban. This should set the tone for any future player when approached by a bookie, and make him think twice of the consequences before making his decision. It's not Pakistan cricket that is affected now. It is the whole game, and if the game is to be preserved, then the strongest punishments available should be handed out.
The ghost of match-fixing has constantly hovered over Pakistan and it's time PCB finally owns up responsibility. The failed administration is not good for cricket and is definitely not something that is needed at this moment. The dubious bureaucracy of the Paksitan Board cannot handle this sensitive matter but I am shocked to hear people wanting PCB dissolved or ratified. Dissolving the board isn't going to solve any problems so I suppose the ideal thing for ICC to do is to have some stern words with PCB and warn of severe consequences if it doesn't get it's own house in order. In a way, I would blame the PCB for the match-fixing scandal, as it's dysfunctional operation of cricket has failed to provide it's players a sense of comfort and stability. Why else would they risk their career this money? The board has always tended to cut out trouble at the stem and has showed an attitude of competence and inability when coming to address problems at the root level. If a young player like Amir who has been having the time of his life with the ball, being able to throw away his entire career, for money and a quick fix-it solution, imagine the atmosphere he has been living in till now. Drastic action must be taken and taken quickly. This is why I feel that the tour should have been suspended amid these allegations.
The players are of course innocent until proven guilty, but at least the alleged fixers must be suspended momentarily till all charges are proven wrong.
Pakistan lacks leadership and a vision at the moment. They lack a proper captain to guide the team and a board to stand by them and support them. Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea for the PCB to withdraw from test cricket for a couple of years like the Zimbabwean Cricket Board did. This will for once show that something is being done.
All this spot-fixing has done is take the spotlight from cricket. We just witnessed a fantastic fightback from England and some splendid bowling from the Pakistani bowlers, but who is talking about those things? Every news channel is broadcasting about the shocking scandal and any conversation about cricket revolves around it. Cricket is losing the spotlight and the off-field developments take centre stage. This is why I would have liked to see the tour cancelled. Who would want to see alleged cheaters play? The game has just undergone irrepairable damage, and I'm sure that every match that Pakistan play hence forth will raise a few eyebrows. The entire scandal has showed the world the shortcomings and failure of the ICC anti-corruption team, the PCB, and most of all the very ethics that govern that game.
The Chandrachud report from the 2000 match-fixing case states, “It will be a sad day, if the common men and women on whose support the game has occupied its pride of place believe that bookies and not the chosen eleven play the game". I fear that day may fast arrive if this ghost is not exorcised immediately.
The Pakistan team has come under a lot of criticism and has been in a distressed and turbulent state for quite some time now. Ever since the terror attack in Pakistan, rebelling of senior players in the series in Australia, ball tampering and banning some senior players, Pakistan has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. But all those bar the terror attacks seems insignificant now considering what has happened in the last two days.
Match-fixing or rather spot-fixing as it is the case here, is the most vilest offense a player can commit. He not only shames the uniform and the country he plays for, but most of all he let's down himself and this beautiful game. The worst thing that a player can be accused of is match-fixing. It not only questions a player's commitment and his ethics but also taints the game beyond repair. This is a serious crime and simply cannot be pardoned.
I love what Iain O' Brien said about the people fixing. He said, "To all those who think it's easy to deliberately bowl a no-ball or a wide. It's not. You've got to leave all you respect for yourself and this great game at the gate.", and that's exactly what the Pakistani players have done. They have let themselves down and most of all forgot what the game means to them.
I was shocked when I saw the names that were published as part of this fixing scandal. Just a few weeks ago, Salman Butt took over the helm from Afridi and Pakistan looked to be heading for some brighter days. With a new captain and young stalwarts by the name of Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif, the team showed signs of a new Pakistani team and a beginning of a new era. But now, just a few weeks since then, they have failed to live up to that huge promise of resurrecting from the debris and find themselves in a huge abyss. Mohammad Amir, and Mohammad Asif were regarded as the best Pakistan new ball bowlers in the last decade in the few moments they played together, and were looked upon as the new generation of Waquar and Wasim. But unfortunately all that talent is now a colossal waste. Two youngsters, one making his mark and another making his comeback captured the world's imagination, but now the story unfortunately ends for them. Amir a lad of just 17 is involved in this mess. He was the next biggest thing in cricket and probably one of the finest players Pakistan has produced in the past decade or so. He was gifted abudently and had the ability to make the ball adhere to his wish. Such talent now goes rotting and it's time for Asif to face the music. The youngest man to get 50 test wickets now faces his career being cut short and a life of shame. Pity it must end for him like this.
I praised the PCB when it took steps to take action against the players who rebelled during the Australian tour. Yunus Khan, and Yousuf were banned and a few others were given a lighter sentence. This showed a failed administration trying to prove itself and do something, but within a month, the sentences delivered had been reversed and the players were back playing for the country. This shows the very failed nature of administration in Pakistan. Now the offense is a much bigger one and the punishment imposed also must be.
The ICC and the PCB must act clinically and stub out this weed instantly. They must make an example of this situation. All the players found guilty must never again touch the willow or bowl a ball. They should be banned indefinitely and more so abide by the ban. This should set the tone for any future player when approached by a bookie, and make him think twice of the consequences before making his decision. It's not Pakistan cricket that is affected now. It is the whole game, and if the game is to be preserved, then the strongest punishments available should be handed out.
The ghost of match-fixing has constantly hovered over Pakistan and it's time PCB finally owns up responsibility. The failed administration is not good for cricket and is definitely not something that is needed at this moment. The dubious bureaucracy of the Paksitan Board cannot handle this sensitive matter but I am shocked to hear people wanting PCB dissolved or ratified. Dissolving the board isn't going to solve any problems so I suppose the ideal thing for ICC to do is to have some stern words with PCB and warn of severe consequences if it doesn't get it's own house in order. In a way, I would blame the PCB for the match-fixing scandal, as it's dysfunctional operation of cricket has failed to provide it's players a sense of comfort and stability. Why else would they risk their career this money? The board has always tended to cut out trouble at the stem and has showed an attitude of competence and inability when coming to address problems at the root level. If a young player like Amir who has been having the time of his life with the ball, being able to throw away his entire career, for money and a quick fix-it solution, imagine the atmosphere he has been living in till now. Drastic action must be taken and taken quickly. This is why I feel that the tour should have been suspended amid these allegations.
The players are of course innocent until proven guilty, but at least the alleged fixers must be suspended momentarily till all charges are proven wrong.
Pakistan lacks leadership and a vision at the moment. They lack a proper captain to guide the team and a board to stand by them and support them. Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea for the PCB to withdraw from test cricket for a couple of years like the Zimbabwean Cricket Board did. This will for once show that something is being done.
All this spot-fixing has done is take the spotlight from cricket. We just witnessed a fantastic fightback from England and some splendid bowling from the Pakistani bowlers, but who is talking about those things? Every news channel is broadcasting about the shocking scandal and any conversation about cricket revolves around it. Cricket is losing the spotlight and the off-field developments take centre stage. This is why I would have liked to see the tour cancelled. Who would want to see alleged cheaters play? The game has just undergone irrepairable damage, and I'm sure that every match that Pakistan play hence forth will raise a few eyebrows. The entire scandal has showed the world the shortcomings and failure of the ICC anti-corruption team, the PCB, and most of all the very ethics that govern that game.
The Chandrachud report from the 2000 match-fixing case states, “It will be a sad day, if the common men and women on whose support the game has occupied its pride of place believe that bookies and not the chosen eleven play the game". I fear that day may fast arrive if this ghost is not exorcised immediately.
2 Comments:
Even before Hansie Cronje confessed, there had been match-fixing incidents. And till now, there must have been a lot more, we just don't know about them. Some are caught, not everyone. This is tragic. Don't Pakistanis ever think of their team or country? No soul or self consciousness?
You ain't a thief till you're caught!
I guess it is on this belief that these players indulge themselves in such activities. This mentality needs to be eliminated... and quickly!
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- Francis Bacon