A sad day for Cricket

An eighteen year old should never have been exposed to the murky underworld of match-fixing. Thankfully with his age, a five year ban means he will hopefully be able to continue his career and fulfil the immense potential he exhibited. Hopefully, he won’t go the same way as Mohammad Asif, for whom the spot-fixing crisis was the tip of a chequered past including a failed drugs test and being banned from the U.A.E. for possessing opium. Some pundits called for life bans on the three players involved and for age not to be a factor in the bans handed down by the ICC. But surely people deserve a second chance? Is spot fixing the greatest crime committed by a cricket player? It Is certainly hard not to be swayed by the age and ability of Amir. Salman Butt was his captain, the Gary Barlow figure if you like, whilst Asif was the senior bowler in the Pakistan cricket team. The very people who should have been guiding this precocious talent were the ones involving him in spot-fixing. The blame does not stop at the players on the Pakistani team however. Just as culpable are the Pakistani Cricket Board for not clamping down on the match fixing problem that appears to be endemic in the sub continent as well as the ICC for not enforcing stricter rules in terms of corruption in cricket and pouring money into the Anti Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU).

It is up to the ICC to make sure the players are the eyes and ears of the drive to stamp out corruption in cricket. The spot fixing occurring in the Pakistan team must have been an open secret, with allegedly up to six players involved in it. We only have to look back to the ’90s when match fixing was in its heyday to see just how widespread it was. There were rumours of Indian teams being split along the lines of those playing for their country and those playing for the filthy lucre whilst it is alleged South Africa (under Hansie Cronje) were offered $300,000 to throw a one day international in India. They had three team meetings before deciding to reject the offer. That is three too many. Somehow, the ICC must have to make players report approaches made to them whether that is through gentle encouragement or an iron fist. They must also try to infiltrate the shady underworld betting markets in the subcontinent; it must have been hugely embarrassing for them that the News of the World, of all publications, uncovered the biggest match-fixing story in ten years. Until the ICC implements these changes, the sport is never going to get cleaner and will continue to be dogged by such allegations.

Such measures will hopefully ensure talents such as Amir do not get sucked into the world of match-fixing. And I grew quite attached to Mohammad Amir during his short career. More so than to Frankie Cocozza anyway. 

Written by Jake Starkey, grandstand writer

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