Spot fixing is blot risking
Youth is the time when one is supposed to be guided by principles, rather than practicality. That is when ideals are the bedrock of one’s being. Who has not heard the old joke that says: “If you are 20 and you are not a Communist, then you have no heart. If you are 30 and you are still a Communist, then you have no head.”
Then what prompts young men to betray their country?
Mohammad Asif is a seasoned campaigner, who has got into trouble before, most notably when he was arrested by Dubai Police for minuscule traces of drugs in his baggage. But Mohammad Aamir is an 18-year-old sensation; one of the most exciting new finds among pace bowlers.
Yet, both bowled very obvious no-balls almost exactly as predicted by bookie Mazhar Majeed, who allegedly bribed Pakistani pacers Asif and Aamir during the Lord’s Test against England, which the visitors lost by an innings and 225 runs. The scandal, however, does not stop at these two. Pakistan Test Captain Salman Butt and wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal are also under the scanner. Besides, British police have recovered large amounts of cash from the rooms of Pakistani cricketers whom they have declined to name.
Without doubt, this is Pakistan cricket’s biggest match fixing scandal. It also reveals a new trend that cannot be good for the game. It’s called ‘spot fixing’, and involves a player agreeing to do mid-match performance blips for money. A bowler might deliberately bowl consecutive wides in his second over, or a batsman could make sure he does not reach double figures.
Some players justify this kind of in-match fixing, because they say it does not impact the final result of the game. But this kind of ‘lesser evil’ justification can lead to a complete breakdown of all the values and traditions that cricket holds so dear.
Betting on cricket matches is a hugely lucrative business. Fortunes can be made or lost. And, if a gambler knows in advance what a particular bowler or batsman is going to do, it can make him a fortune. And now, since bets can be placed on every delivery, we have ‘spot-fixing’.
We thought that following three international captains – Hansie Cronje (South Africa), Salim Malik (Pakistan) and Mohammed Azharuddin (India) – being banned for life in 2000 for match-fixing, that the malady was mostly cured. The International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) apparently monitors all international matches. But obviously, the stakes are much too high. When one can earn £10,000 (Rs7.5 lakh) to bowl just one or two no-balls, the pride of playing for the country begins to lose its sheen.
The Pakistani cricketer may be an underdog, prevented from earning as well as his Indian counterpart by being excluded from the moneyspinning Indian Premier League (IPL). However, if relative loss of affluence was to be made a justifiable excuse for crime, one cannot say whether the rot would at all stop.
As Pakistani cricket legend Imran Khan has demanded, exemplary punishment needs to be meted out to any player found guilty of spot fixing. He said: “I think there is a need to send out a message to youngsters… that crime does not pay.” Those consumed by the lust for money must be made to pay.
Otherwise, cricket will forever be consumed by the shadow of suspicion. No longer would we say: “Bad luck,” if someone dropped a difficult catch. Every missed stumping would be met by millions of raised eyebrows. A poor shot by a good batman would cause ripples of whispers to roll across the ground like a Mexican wave. A gentleman’s game would be overrun by distrust and deceit. It would not be the BCCI or the ICC that runs the game; instead it would be the bookies. It simply wouldn’t be cricket anymore.
