Clouds of match-fixing hover over cricket

Clouds of match-fixing hover over cricket

Pakistan cricket is facing one of the darkest days in its history with the match-fixing revelations involving several members of the Pakistan cricket team. While the allegations have not yet been proven, the evidence on hand suggests all is not well in the Pakistan camp.

Dawn.com’s sports desk will keep an eye on the developments as the day goes on.

We also invite our readers to debate the imbroglio, its implications and what the future holds for Pakistan cricket.

Latest from the world press on the Lord’s fixing scandal:

Several Pakistani players knew Mazhar majeed

The three balls that might taint Pakistan cricket forever

Lack of killer instinct in Pakistan’s attack

Lord’s fixing scandal on internet forums, Facebook, Twitter:

Twitter

@umairjav: stuart broad must be bummed at finding out he’s actually not that great a batsman
@KamranAbbasi: In the middle of the flood crisis and Ramadan, what a way to behave. An utter humiliation for Pakistan cricket on and off the field.
@cpyala: Question for Aalim Online: Does the money donated by Pak cricketers for flood relief become haraam?
@karachikhatmal: in 99 you broke my heart. but i was 16, and i learnt to love you again. i fear i am too old to love you again. why #pakcricket?

The views expressed by the reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Dawn Media Group.

 

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426 Responses to “Clouds of match-fixing hover over cricket”

  1. Pakistan Cricket is the Cricket giant and i believe our team is cricket icon in the world. We only need sincere persons in our board from top till bottom, who knows cricket, who sincere with the country as well as with the game. The western media knows very well the abilities of Pakistani nation and they must have some fears with us, thats why they always try to make fake scandals to degrade us. We should have to fight them under the rules and regulations of cricket and prove our selves that who are the “Pakistanis”. Pakistani Cricketers however former or current are the legends of Cricket and obvious our National Heroes. We respects them and salute them about there performances.

  2. AKHLAQ A.QURESHI says:

    Some body are making fun deliberately. If England would have won the 3rd ODI then what would have happend and what happened when 2nd ODI England have won.

    If England would have won the 3rd ODI nothing would have happened so what does mean? They dont want a win for Pakistan. Under this prespect, just think what they want, and still there is nothing evidenced by Scotland Police, thematter is pending and leave on the prosecuters.

    This is insult to the country. Thanks to PCB now, they want to take action for those who are involved and want to damage the game and relatioship.

  3. asad says:

    Yes these things happen in games.

    If one commit a crime then he get punishment in accordance to law.
    But i saw a different response in Pakistan. I heard on media, people suggesting barbaric punishments .
    This clearly indicate the people do not believe in Rule of law. Such people should be tried in court in law for spreading the doctrine of violence.

    I believe that we being a citizen can only say that if cricketer’s found guilty then they should be punished according to law and can say no more then this. Saying anything more then this reflect people belief in non-existence of Justice system in our society.

  4. Rohit says:

    Matchfixing is not some Pakistan specific problem with reports of wide spread corruption in IPL surfacing (that included players from all test countries and billionaire owners). The reason it never goes away is simply because the various cricket boards are too lenient or complicit in this crime. As far as these 3players or Kamran Akmal is concerned, it is blatantly clear they are involved in corruption. Somehow I am sure within a few months this issue will be forgotten, all will be forgiven and players will get back to fixing via IPL or test matches

  5. Malik says:

    When i was in europe last week, i was really ashamed of all the news coming from pakistan.
    My colleagues were hesitating to spend for our flood victims because they hear only bad news from our country. Terror activities, corruption and finally booking also…
    India pushes all their positive things among other nations, and we on the other side are ignored by our own deeds…. Who should be blamed ? What is our future ? god only knows….

  6. Sunil Mishra says:

    I am not sure if everyone commenting here has seen the evidence produced by News Of The World. To be fair question is not whether the three are guilty but actual question that ICC or us to be asking is who else might be involved. Scotland Yard is doing criminal investigation not a cricket one. Cricket/Sport ethics and etiquette are at different standard.
    I have seen the interviews of Pakistani High Comissioner Mr. Wajid Shamsul Hasan and he looked to be jumping to make a statement which seemed just a lie. Also his actions like having meeting with player Hameed and then Hameed saying i said what i read in newspapers and so on.
    Again during tenure of Izaz Butt there have been so many incidence wrt Pakistani cricket (Attack on Srilankan team, Indian and Pakistan cricket board falling apart, Last years test series saga, Countries refusing to visit Pakistan and now this) and guy is still there.
    Question is why Mr High Comissioner is speaking the like a politician and why Mr Butt hasnt spoken
    At the end of all this will PCB say no one else except whom Scotland Yard implicated was involved. Then why the hell bear charges of the PCB enquiry.

    • MASHOOD QADRI says:

      After watching all this drama. I have concluded, that, ICC should apply for affiliation with WWF. Now I wonder, ICC is either a non-functioning, helpless decorative forum, no good than to carry a logo of so called ICC. Match spot fixing trio would never got into this spot light, if this match was playing in Dubai, Pakistan or in India. This scandal would have been disappeared like a rat up from a drain pipe.

  7. Adam says:

    Wow! Quite embarrassing. They should start the “match fixing” inquiry with Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, who were notoriously the first ones to come up with this system of “games-keeper thumb”. Then work your way down the roster. And, if you have any regards for your nation, your Cricket, your people and most importantly their hope that they pined on you, then do the right thing and ensure that Cricket players won’t embarrass your nation again. Or else, all is academic and this will bring an end to Cricket in Pakistan, if it hasn’t already. And, please don’t say that “poverty brings corruption”, because that would be one sorry excuse. And, the answer to that gullible rant is: No! poverty doesn’t breed corruption, bad character and tainted morality does. And, since all of the Pakistani players can afford to hire limousines on overseas tours, then they CERTAINLY ARE NOT POOR.

  8. sher khan says:

    what a disgrace, i live abroad and am ashamed to show my face at work.

    Do we know what mazheer majeed told the cops in his interrogation???????

  9. Khalid says:

    I wrote my comments on NotW daring them to post it. The comment was something like this: This is a conspiracy they hatched with other parties because these two bowlers almost destroyed the Test careers of half the English team, Cook, Pietersen, Collingwood and Morgan. No surprise they have not posted my comment on their site. Their failure to destroy Wasim and Waqar in the nineties have taught them to go for the kill and they seem to have managed to do just that. Only God can save the carrers, rather lives, of these two and Salman.

  10. AH says:

    To all those who are suggesting that Pakistan should be banned from playing cricket, I would like to quote Imran Khan:
    “Why should Pakistan cricket suffer if some players have indulged in a crime? Why should Pakistani supporters suffer because of that? The people who are found guilty should be removed from the team and replaced and should be punished as an example for future generations to realise that crime does not pay.”

    This is time to cleanse cricket in Pakistan once and for all. PCB should be dissolved immediately and Ijaz Butt and the others should be shown the door forever. Those (players) found guilty should be banned for life, period. If Aamer and Asif are banned for life then that will not be the end of cricket in Pakistan as Pakistan is capable of producing good bowlers, if not now then in the next few years. What is most important is to establish the trust and integrity and to show the world that the entire nation should not be penalized due to the greed of a few. For the longivity of cricket in Pakistan, the president should not be given the right to hand-pick anyone of his/her liking to become the chairman of PCB. It is decisions like these that have brought Pakistan to this level.

    Finally, I must say that the mere idea of someone as crook as Zardari asking for an inquiry into a “cheating incident” is simply laughable.

  11. MM says:

    Innocent until proven guilty. However, if they are found guilty, like Imran Khan has said, give them exemplarypunishment. Ban the players involved for life and confiscate their Pakistani passports so that cannot play abroad.

    The Pakistani Nation must do some soul searching as to why they have ingrained corruption in all spheres of their life. Let this be the begining of a positive change.

  12. Mohammad Arfan says:

    Definately they r involved in match fixing. Video clipping says that they r involved in match fixing.Mohammad Amer threw the no ball such a huge astride and i think no one has seen such kind of no ball in his life. Another clipping against Australia kamran Akmal dropped several easy catches. And he didnt break the stump although he gripped the ball and batsman was near about 2 feet away of the cridge. All the evidence prove that pakistan cricket player allegedly involved in match fixing. Pak Government should take strong steps against those shamless cricketers who r selling their country for a long time and also the corrupted persons of pak cricket board. If Pak Government punished previously the corrupted players and the offcials of pak cricket board these kind of nastiest thing will not be happened again. In the end shame on those players and the corrupted officials of pak cricket board.

  13. javed Qamker says:

    It is depressing and heart rending. After England had piled on over 400 runs I was hoping Pakistan would fight back. Then the monumental loss.
    Now this match fixing. How much can a Pakistani American take. What are these players thinking.
    I hope Pakistan is banned from world cricket for a few years. Worl cricket body should not wait for pakistani govt to act. But just ban the Pakistani team.
    The players who took money should all go to jail.

  14. Ajaz Rahmatullah says:

    Lets furst wait for the Scotland Yard and PCB inquiry commitee report before jumping into conclusions and issuing statement/comments to defame our cricketers. News of the World is a tabloid Gossip newspaper whose reputation is always questionable. The photographs shown looks like pasted and fake.I think PCB should hire a very good lawyer to find out the truth anf fight for Pakistan’s image.The players if found guilty should get the maximum possible punishment and if not guilty then all those involved in these allegations be sued for defamation. Lets support our team to save our county;s name please .

  15. AK says:

    The News of the World is published by News Group Newspapers of News International, itself a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation. The same group which brought on the onslaught of negative publicity and anti Muslim hysteria against the planned Islamic Center in downtown Manhattan through Fox news and it’s newspapers. Isn’t it interesting who set up these weirdos for a fall.

  16. Dear Friends

    I think this 6 or 7 players, who are involve should be fired and send them home, and they are not deserve to be consider in the future assignment with the Team. This whole team was not performing at all, and they are luck they are in the team, they are mafia that they are not allowing other player to come to the Team, Example is Zulqarian haider the Wicketkeeper was treated so bad, as he was a treat to Akmal and the management send him home as his injury so not life treating as compared to Umar Gul. The Management and this players are involve in putting Pakistan Name bad in the World. I want to see them fired one for all. and select young player for the One days and T20 one for all.

  17. AK says:

    According to the BBC, the “bribe” was provided by an undercover reporter through a middleman. Sounds like entrapment to me. Who would spend this kind of money to set up this trap? Who chose which players to lure? and why?

  18. Arsalan says:

    I have seen betting /money involved at all level of cricket in Pakistan from unorganized tape ball matches
    to club cricket there is no one who plays for honor and spirit. So problem is at very gross root level. Imagine Suhail Tanveer at age 10-12 year (he is not involved in any match/spot fixing) playing a street tape ball match Rawalpindi and there is a lot more money involved than official prize money , than a young brains get conditioned to think it as norm rather than crime. where ever there is unregulated betting there will always be match/spot fixing. All of our current team grew up in such cricketing environment.

    It took decades for Malaysia to root out betting /fixing in local soccer clubs after years of harsh punishment and prosecution of whole mafia involved.

  19. alex says:

    “innocent until proven guilty…” they have played this dirty game in the past to all Pak star bowlers.

  20. Ghulam says:

    I cannot believe the comments of some people here who seem to be living in a state of denial and in cloud cuckoo land. Corruption in Pakistan is of epic proportions, we set the benchmark for this. Corruption in our sport has been going on for some time now but no-one seems to have the guts to do anything about. As a Pakistani, I have never felt so embarrassed and ashamed. I sincerely hope the ones found guilty are given LIFETIME BANS from all forms of the game, regardless of their age or experience. The management should also take responsibility and GO. I cannot believe some people commenting here that other nations blah blah blah, who cares what other nations do, do we not have our pride and integrity to answer to? Just because players from other nations may have got away with this does not mean we should be lenient with our players or that there actions are justified. The whole lot are actually beginning to make me sick as are people here who are trying to defend these players.

  21. Rizwan Khan says:

    Pakistan cricket is in serious trouble after this shamfull incident. These culprits should only be banned for life but also should be subject to examplary punishments.

  22. Haidery says:

    It comes down to this – if proven guilty, ban them for atleast 10 years and I mean BAN them, everyone involved. For exceptional talents such as Amir and Umar Akmal, after 10 years when nobody would even remember this, they will be back when they are 28-30 years old and still have 5-6 years cricket left in them if they still have the desire or the skills! It’d be tragic and heartbreaking to see such talented cricketers go but you have to do it for 1. Our country’s pride 2. Cricket..But take action as we need to set an EXAMPLE!

    Secondly, if proven not guilty and all this was a sham, sue the pants off NOTW and every else involved to set an example there as well. We could use that money for flood victims if for nothing! Until then hang on!!!!

  23. Irbaaz says:

    A sad day for cricket and in particular Pakistan.

    The evidence that has been presented is overwhelming and in accordance with any Law of any land it would be found to be beyond any fanciful doubt against those involved.

    Pakistan cricket has never implemented Justice Qayums recommendations ( full report available on cric info) in their entirety and therefore it has given an impression to the new generation of cricketers that such activities although illegal would be tolerated, if not caught.

    The sad part of this story is that a rare talent has been dragged into this, which is shameful on the senior players. Blame at this stage maybe considered to be premature but in this case there is so much smoke it would cover the whole of England.

    When Pakistan is going through one of the world’s largest natural disaster Pakistani players should have been setting a clear example of decency and honesty. This type of behaviour is a complete insult to the people of Pakistan and the cricketing world in general. This is probably only the start of this story because certainly there will be other players and other matches to be scrutinised and in particular the match in Australia earlier this year.

    I hope after this disaster some reality comes to fruition particular from the PCB hopefully realising that change is needed to its internal make-up to ensure that there is no repeat of this type of behaviour in the future.

    I thank Dawn newspaper and its management for tackling matters in a honest and open matter which hopefully will lead to checks and balances being implemented, not only in cricket but in Government

  24. Zeenat says:

    If they found guilty punish them. But don’t kill Cricket in Pakistan. I think they(Western Media) want to de-motivated Pakistan team.

  25. ali ahmed says:

    first of all B.C.C,P should be dissolved,a new and honest man,who knows about cricket should be made the president of the boaerd and immediately election at all the level should be held.and instead of selecting player from lahore it should be selected from whole of pakistan,to make a real national team

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