A stinking international cricket scandal is all that Pakistan needs as it grapples with a negative image problem abroad that is dampening efforts to raise funds for the rehabilitation of over 20 million people displaced by the worst floods in living memory.
A sting operation by a popular British rag has laid Pakistan low by exposing the extent of greed and anarchy on and off the cricket ground at home and abroad. The bitter irony is that the anti-Pakistan sting was conducted by a Pak-Brit reporter whose journalist father immigrated to the UK from Lahore many years ago.
The unmitigated tragedy is that a rising new star on the firmament of international cricket – Mohammad Amer, 18 – is both an unwitting victim and witting perpetrator. The premeditated no-ball that he bowled, along with Mohammad Asif, cannot be described as a match-fixing incident because it had no bearing on the fate of the match. But it is at the centre of a multi-million dollar storm of spot-fixing in sport that is a gambling crime in the UK.
The incident has rocked the Pakistan Cricket Team which is spilling over with talent, its new captain Salman Butt on whom many hopes were pinned, and the Pakistan Cricket Board whose bumbling chairman Ijaz Butt should have stepped aside a long time ago. Worse, it has put a serious question mark not only on the integrity of the 82 first class international matches played by Pakistan in the last 30 months but also, critically, on the credibility of two 20/20 and five ODIs – which are worth tens of millions of pounds in gate receipts and TV rights – that are scheduled to be played in the UK over the next two weeks.
This is not the first time that cricket has been soured by match or spot fixing. Since the 1990s, it has become a mega-bucks industry. The ICC’s Lord Condon claims that gambling bets of over $1 billion may normally be placed on a single day of a key One Day World Cup match! Among Test class cricketers tarred by match-fixing, ball tampering and assorted charges in the last fifteen years are nine from Pakistan, seven from India, three from South Africa and two from Australia. Unproven charges have been leveled against many others. Britain is the only country that has not been infected.
Pakistan’s cricket has been in dire straits for many years. Generals, bureaucrats, diplomats, politicians and cricketers have, in turns, lorded over the Pakistan Cricket Board. Barring a couple of notables, all have been more or less corrupt, nepotistic or incompetent. Domestically, cricket is not structured on fierce competing provincial or regional rivalries that are conducive to the combative spirit of the high stakes game as in England or Australia and now in India. Street smart amateurs with unbounded talent streak across the cricket firmament from time to time while professionally trained and groomed youngsters are rare. Anarchy rather than discipline prevails on and off the field. A captain is not even a first among equals, let alone being a class and cut above the rest. Retired players push and shove for the top slots as coaches, managers and consultants, bringing their pet peeves and personality clashes to the dressing room and selection committees and throwing about their “seniority” status as a badge of authority. Everyone is tainted to a greater or lesser extent by that immoral get-rich-quick disease so prevalent amongst the half-baked urban salariat in poor countries.
No quick-fix solutions are available to stem the rot at the top and bottom. But there is a stream of talent and profusion of passion for cricket in Pakistan. A start can therefore be made by appointing a new PCB chairman who is not a crony of the high and mighty. He must have high moral standing established over a lifetime of acclaimed public service. He should demonstrate sufficient administrative experience to enforce a just system of rewards and punishments. And he must have a love and passion for the game no less than display a vast knowledge of its professional requirements in a cool, calculated but diplomatic manner.
More immediately, Amer and Asif must be persuaded to voluntarily withdraw from the game until they are cleared or punished appropriately on the basis of a credible inquiry. The current tour should continue on the basis of redemption and credibility. Win or lose, cricket fans must be given the treat they deserve without fear or favour. And Ijaz Butt must hand in his papers without waiting to be kicked out.
A word of advice is in order for the Pakistani public too. We shouldn’t clutch at conspiracy theories to prove our innocence. Yes, Indian bookies have a run of the gaming trade, but they didn’t trap the dynamic duo. Yes, the News of the World is a scandalous mass market rag, but its stings have exposed corruption and administrative failings in Britain too. Yes, match-fixing and spot-fixing are rampant in other sports too across the world, but that’s no excuse to dump the game and shame Pakistan for personal greed. And no, the kafir world is not out to deliberately crush our budding Muslim talent and bring us to heel.