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Cricket
and match-fixing–II One-day
cricket’s acid test Prelude
to World Cup 2011 By Nabeel Hashmi Calls for day-night Tests to be staged internationally reached fever pitch after Pakistan staged its first ever day-night first-class match under the National Stadium floodlights in Karachi. And after experts and former Test cricketers have raised concerns over saving the longest format of the game by making it more attractive for the fans, this could very well be the future of Test cricket. By Arshad Shami Cricket in Pakistan is faced with numerous problems -- notably its isolation from the cricketing world. The incident on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore in 2009 remains unresolved. That aspect apart, Pakistan cricket is bedeviled by another more heinous crime where those who are revered by cricketing public have betrayed them through using unfair and foul means for petty financial gains. Misbah ends Pakistan’s Test series jinx Pakistan cricket team finally broke their jinx to win the recently concluded Test series against New Zealand 1-0. It was Pakistan’s first series win after a 2-0 home series win over West Indies in 2006-07 while it was the first away series win after Pakistan beat Sri Lanka 1-0 in 2005-06. On New Zealand’s soil, Pakistan last won the Test series in 2003-04 when Pakistan beat the Kiwis 1-0.
Cricket
and match-fixing–II The Pakistan team had just
finished its tour of New Zealand and Australia when the Pakistan Cricket In the backdrop of the tour, several rumours set float and it was said that some senior cricketers were involved in this heinous practice. The manager and the coach presented their reports which were partially leaked out in the press. However, it was the beginning of the end. Muhammad Yousuf, the captain of the team, had been dumped as captain towards the end of the tour and a few weeks later, he announced his retirement. Other players like Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and former captain Shoaib Malik were also sidelined and fined along with the Akmal brothers. The brothers were fined and were cleared. Naved was pardoned only recently but Shoaib Malik has not as yet been cleared. Worst scenario, however, was to unfold during the series against Australia and England on English soil. Shahid Afridi, named captain of the team, stepped down after losing the first Test and Salman Butt was named captain. He led the team to a draw against the Aussies. But suddenly everything fell apart. Tabloid ‘The News Of the World’ published stories of spot fixing involving the captain and fast bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif. In consequence, the three cricketers were banned till the settlement due on on February 5. It is uncertain whether they would be able to figure in the World Cup if they are cleared of the spot-fixing charges. It is pertinent to mention here that during Pakistan’s tour of South Africa and Zimbabwe in 1996-97, batsman Basit Ali and wicketkeeper Rashid Latif announced their retirement from the team, saying that they had given some proof of match-fixing to the authorities which was ignored and it was not possible for them to continue in the team. It was a massive blow to the team as Basit Ali was one of the outstanding and daring batsmen of his time and even though Rashid Latif returned to the team and was made captain, Basit refused to come out of retirement. What measures are required to inculcate in the team spirit of national pride. There is definite absence of nationalism and taking pride in playing for Pakistan. Money has become important even at the expense of national pride. I am reminded of another incident when Kerry Packer, owner of Channel 9 in Australia, recruited the world’s leading cricketers after he was refused exclusive rights for telecasting cricket series by the Australian Board. He offered attractive terms to the cricketers and although several cricketers joined him, Pakistan’s Wasim Bari -- one of the best wicketkeepers in the world at that time -- refused on the plea it was a greater honour to play for his country. The infighting between the Australian Board and Kerry Packer badly depleted all the teams. Cricketers who joined him were banned and new players were inducted in their places. However, Packer’s contribution was great as cricket saw limited overs matches and now the cricket World Cup is played on that format. It is imperative for the Board to look for causes of this tendency. It is strange that today, when cricketers earn a good amount of money and exposure, they still fall for easy money at the expense of playing with the prestige and honour of the country. It is important to discipline the players and teach them some ethics as Muslims and representative of a country like Pakistan. arshadshami@yahoo.com One-day cricket’s acid test Will the context in which a World Cup is played bring in viewers to this beleaguered format or will the interest be skewed towards established rivalries? By Harsha Bhogle When the World Cup
presents itself before the cheering masses on our subcontinent, there is
more at People have begun to wonder, with a mixture of concern and excitement, whether the home team can indeed win it. In both India and Sri Lanka, the answer is yes, and in Bangladesh, they can for the first time be genuinely optimistic about doing more than merely making up the numbers. But beyond that lies the question of the future of the format itself. If the World Cup is the pinnacle of the one-day international, it has to be a roaring success for the format to have an assured future. It hasn’t been in recent times. The World Cup in the West Indies was insipid, hardly a word anyone could have dreamt of using with respect to cricket in the Caribbean. Since then, there have been good games and bad, large crowds and empty stands, and now there is further proof coming in from Australia that if the context is right, the 50-over game is right, but if it isn’t, not many people are interested. The first four one-day games have been the dessert after the main course that the Ashes was -- not the guest who doesn’t leave till the lights are shut off. The Ashes were wonderful, but the fear was that both players and spectators would be exhausted by the tension of it all. Not true. Stadiums have been full and viewership has been outstanding. So too with the one-dayers between India and South Africa. It would seem that the one-day international still has much left in the tank. However, where the action has not involved two fancied teams, or those with a long established rivalry, television rights holders have seen their investment pummelled, and entering grounds in some places has been a bit like going to a restaurant that has fallen on hard times. It would seem to reaffirm the hypothesis rapidly gaining ground that it isn’t the format but the quality of the competition that seems to count. It is in this background that the World Cup comes to the subcontinent, needing a balm after the injuries of the last edition, but also seeking a confirmation of its value to the cricket-playing world. Will the context, so obviously relevant, pull viewers and spectators in? Or will only some games attract notice, leaving the seemingly lesser ones, of which there are plenty, bereft of attention? Ecuador v Switzerland, at the FIFA World Cup would pull in many more viewers than it would if it were a mere friendly. Will South Africa v Netherlands manage that here? If indeed the viewership and attendance tend to be too strongly skewed, if games not involving the top four or five leave people disenchanted, it would mean that the ICC’s decision to have no more than 10 teams for the 2015 World Cup is right. It would also ask some rather uncomfortable questions about cricket’s huge investment in becoming a global sport. I do believe that as the parent body the ICC must do its best to allow everyone in the world to play cricket, and the emergence of Afghanistan has been one of the most touching things to have happened, but if teams don’t compete, that investment will need to be questioned. Kenya is a good example. Eight years after making the semifinal -- even though that required a fortuitous turn of events -- their cricket is going downhill rapidly. Ireland made an impact in 2007; now the world will want to see their progress. Otherwise it will be tempting to go back to the everyone-plays-everyone format of the 1992 World Cup. It is important, too, that India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka put on a real show. While the faithful will throng the stadiums anyway, the right ambience and buzz can draw in the sceptics. In recent times, the news from off the field has been discouraging and cricket itself hasn’t always taken centre stage. Fans need to be proud of their World Cup and it won’t help if scaffolding is still up in stadiums in the month in which the tournament starts. The World Cup didn’t creep up on us. Happily, though, winter has started running out of steam rather quickly in the last week. While it means temperatures might be higher, it could also limit the effect of the dew that can ruin a contest. A hot World Cup on hard, dry outfields might not be great for bowlers but if the fans like runs to be scored, it might serve a greater purpose. –Cricinfo
Finally, a Grand Slam event saw the end of a Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal final juggernaut as both were ousted in the first slam of the Year. Federer’s run was ended by Novak Djokovic while David Ferrer put an end to Nadal’s quest for a Rafa ‘slam’. The men’s singles final is on Sunday (today). |
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Board (PCB) chairman announced that two cricketers were involved in
match-fixing. The ink had not even dried when the chairman made a u-turn and
declared that no cricketer of the present team was involved in match fixing.
stake than who wins the trophy.
