The Fix
I was travelling the day the match fixing scandal broke out. I had no idea how big it was as I was only able to catch the headline. I read something to the effect of “England win among allegations of match-fixing” and I thought “Pakistan has lost a match, so nothing new in these allegations.” The fact that that “worthy” tabloid called News Of The World had broken the story did nothing to make me take this stuff seriously.
I was forced to change my mind a little bit after watching the videos once I got back. But I have been back and forth since then.
The evidence is compelling. But on the other hand it is, after all, NoTW’s evidence.
It is foolish to assume that match/spot fixing does not go on. But on the other hand, why hang someone without a proper investigation?
Proper investigation is not something you can expect from our worthy cricket administrators (regardless of nationality). But without that, and punishing the guilty, how do you begin to clean up the mess?
So where does that leave the average cricket fan like me?
With so many thoughts running through my head, I thought I would be able to pen down a long winded, well articulated post to express all of that. But it turns out that writing eloquent posts is not something I am particularly good at. So after 4 futile attempts in the last 3 days, I am doing the next best thing and making a list of all those thoughts instead, because frankly, I need to get this out of my system.
- 10 years ago, I suffered a massive blow to my belief system when it was revealed that Hansie Cronje and Ajay Jadeja were involved in match fixing. These were 2 of my favourite cricketers and I just could not believe that these guys could be involved in such a thing (specially Hansie). My only source of information then being newspapers and NDTV, not being net savvy enough to discover reports like this and not being cynical enough in general, I took all the proceedings at face value. With the guilty punished, I happily moved on with my life and my cricket, telling myself that it might not be perfect, but it is going to be ok. A cousin of mine would tell me that I am an idiot to still follow cricket so religiously and that I lived in “La La Land” (his words) if I still took everything that happened on the field at face value. But I ignored him of course and I never attempted to find out what sort of “investigations” had gone on in ’00 and how credible the punishments meted out were. Surely, living in denial is not an option now. (Please note PCB et al. DENIAL….NOT AN OPTION).
- I wonder why I feel so disgusted and angry right now when these spot-fixing allegations obviously don’t come as a surprise. Why do I feel betrayed when at the back of my head I sort of knew that this stuff happens all the time? I really don’t understand myself.
- It has been only 3 days, and I have resolved a million times, and then backed down, that I will never watch a match again, and stop maintaining this blog. Over reaction? Possibly. Do I see myself as actually going through with this? Maybe not. At the moment though, I don’t see the point in weighing in India’s chances in a match when player X might already have decided to go for 100 runs in his 10 overs or Player Y has decided to throw his wicket away. I don’t see a point in gloating when India wins or moping at a loss. I question India’s T20 triumph and I wonder whether India could have won the WC in 2003 after all if it weren’t for these bookies. After all, why should I believe that Indians are not involved?
*******
Onto a couple of articles that have appeared online, that rankled a bit.
First off, Geoff Lawson in Sydney Morning Herald.
The instant reaction after watching the investigative videos was – why would you, a cricketer with such potential, want to stake your reputation for some money? What’s with all the greed? What about ethics? Etc etc.
Geoff’s article’s first half was a reality check in that regard. Of course you idiot! (The idiot being referred to here is me). If someone is powerful enough to run such a racket, wouldn’t they go to any lengths to ensure that all this runs smoothly? Why wouldn’t they threaten players to do their bidding? And surely, I don’t expect these players to become martyrs in order to “uphold their morals” and do the right thing. Of course, if your family is under threat, you do what you are asked to. I would too.
The thing that does bug me is this part –
I will never condone any form of fixing, but we should consider that a cricketer might not be thinking of personal gain but of getting money to buy a generator for his village because they don’t have electricity.
Um, yeah. Let’s not get carried away, shall we Geoff? A player gets a decent amount (not over the top, but decent enough) as match fee. One might want to be a little patient in order to save money to buy things? You know, like us mere mortals do?
Next up, Dileep Premachandran in the Guardian. The crux of his article is neatly summed up by the tagline “Lack of legitimate earning opportunities draws jealous players into the hands of unscrupulous bookmakers”.
Honestly, the premise is very offensive. So basically, if I am a very very capable software engineer and Google doesn’t want to employ me and let me earn big bucks (assuming that Google is the only place where I can earn big money as a s/w engg.) for whatever reason, even as my other not-so-bright classmates do so, Dileep would totally understand if I started indulging in industrial espionage? What sort of a shithead logic is that?
Lastly, maybe I am a very hard hearted person, but I don’t get all the outpouring of sympathy for Mohd. Aamer. Assuming he is guilty of course, clearly he is an adult and should have a sense of what is right and what is not. Unless his family was under threat, he had a choice to say no. And he didn’t. If that means the end of a cricket career, well, then so be it. Clearly, having the potential to excel is just not enough in this world. There are thousands of people who can vouch for that.
My sentiments exactly Megha.. There has been an inordinate rush to hang the trio without substantial proof while on the other hand, the copious tears shed for the lot of the Pakistanis and Aamer in general would put Nirupa Roy in the shade.
Somehow, somewhere, people seem to lose the fact that there is a due process in place and inferences are reached on the basis of due process and not conjecture (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/international/pakistan/7976300/Pakistan-match-fixing-claims-my-close-up-view-of-Salman-Butts-morning-meeting-at-Lords.html).
Already the media has declared these three guilty. Public opinion is veering towards the same.
How different is what is happening to the three players from this (http://www.zeenews.com/news649879.html) ?
Cheers,
[Reply]
Megha Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 00:00
Thanks Homer
That Telegraph article is really taking it to the extreme! I don’t know what to make of the allegations. Because it is NoTW, i am a little sceptical…but because it is Pakistan, I believe there could be a grain of truth in it. And anyway, this sort of stuff does go on, right? so here is my dilemma…What do i believe in? what i see and what i am told by cricket administrators? or what i believe might be being swept under the carpet yet again? A tiny seed of doubt has been planted in my head, and as they say… vaham ka koi ilaaj nahi hota
[Reply]
Homer
2 Sep 10 at 22:43
M, I missed a lot of the 2000 fiasco and, like you, assumed that it had been taken care of. I have not followed the IPL (for various other reasons) but I was convinced that if ever the next scandal broke out, it would emanate from the results of that league.
I am still placing my faith that SRT, RD, VVS, SCG, and AK were/are men of integrity and honor and would not stoop to such levels. But the why am I so cautious in my wording of the previous sentence. Why can’t I be safe in my assertion?
THAT, to me, is the real tragedy of this whole affair.
H, while I agree that the court of public opinion has, as usual, delivered its verdict, it is a bit of a stretch to equate the tragedy of people being lynched by a mob to that of a few young fellows losing their livelihood because of their “alleged” involvement in a betting scam.
[Reply]
Megha Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 00:08
Oh JQ…if any of these were to be involved in such things, i don’t know how I will ever deal with that…the thing is though, i thought similarly for Cronje as well…and while SRT, RD et al are in a different league, who knows? sigh…
I share your thoughts re IPL..i.e. the not following it part what whatever reasons and it being a potential scandal ground (as if it isn’t already!)
[Reply]
Homer Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 00:26
JQ,
I am not sure losing your livelihood is as trivial a matter as you make it out to be. Especially given the fact that cricket is the only means of livelihood for the three accused and that there are no alternate means of employment with the world of cricket.
Couple that with the innuendo they will have to live with for the rest of their lives and I cannot see much difference between the lynchings and how the three have been treated thus far.
Cheers,
[Reply]
Megha Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 14:02
Homer, surely being beaten to death is much much worse than losing ur livelihood (which they haven’t yet…they have only been suspended..and if they do lose their jobs at the end of it, it will be for a valid reason)
As for the innuendos, they pretty much live with that already..anytime they lose a match, there are talks of “match fixing”…and why just them? Now any massive no-balls will be looked at suspiciously…
[Reply]
Jaunty Quicksand
2 Sep 10 at 23:44
I just laughed my a**e reading that Simon Hughes column. If the guy suspected something was up, why wait for this long, and after the s**t has hit the roof to bring it up ?
Equally hearing other players ( in this case the Aus blokes) saying they were also approached last year serves no bloody purpose. Ok they *supposedly* did the right thing – informed CA who then did what ? Inform the ACSU ??? So what did the ACSU do – nothing, or at least nothing we know of. Similar too the Shakib Al Hasan story.
Never see the point of closing the stable after the horse has bolted.
As to the present mess – my advice ? Take with a pinch of salt ( ok make that a damn full jar of salt if need be ) and move on !
Give this a few months to run, and what you know Ashes series, Ind – S Af series, and then World Cup – would we even talk about it or bring it up then ?
The cynical me says NO.
Lastly, if the three blokes are found to be guily – I’d say maybe for once the ICC/ACSU should show some spine and ban them for life. I though wouldn’t hold my breath waiting to see it happen.
[Reply]
Megha Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 14:10
TG,
Haven’t read Hughes’ column yet. As for the other players, what’s the harm in letting the public know that they too have been approached, as long as they did the right thing then and informed the authorities?
Sure, I’ll move on. We all will. And that is part of the tragedy, isn’t it? I think I’ll start treating these matches more as a means of entertainment..like I do with a movie..i know the script has already been written by someone, I’ll just wait for it to unfold on-screen
Nope. I’m not holding my breath either. I expect faux investigations, things brushed under the carpet if they become to big, maybe some token punishment for Aamer (him being the juniormost player) and then back to normality…
[Reply]
Megha Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 14:14
Oops, sorry. Just realised you were talking about the Telegraph column. Yeah well, he is just making hay
[Reply]
Tifosiguy
3 Sep 10 at 01:34
Nice analogy with Google and the s/w industry, Megha. Dileep is right about the major disparity in earnings among cricketers but that doesn’t fully explain it. I suppose Amir and co (if they’re guilty) were lulled into thinking they couldn’t possibly be caught over such an insignificant thing as a deliberate noball.
We’ve already seen the effect that the IPL and T20 have had on various cricketers, so any amount of money seems to be a big enough incentive.
As for all the sympathy that Amir is getting, sportsfans aren’t the most rational lot are we? Andre Agassi still retains his loyal fanbase after the drugs admission in his autobio. I think it’s not so much sympathy as frustration that Amir foolishly chose to mess with his potentially great career. Typically, we’re looking to affix the blame elsewhere.
[Reply]
Megha Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 14:23
Thanks Suhas.
Thing is, however insignificant the no-ball might be, if these players are involved, it might not be the first time they have done this. And it might not be the only thing they have done. This was just a “sample” of what could be done. And it points to a deeper malaise surely.
There is a slight difference in the issues of Agassi and Aamer, but I get your point about irrational fans. Perhaps it is easier for me to pan Aamer just because he is not an 18-year old Indian prodigy who has risen from a very humble background (although I doubt I would change my mind if that was the case)
[Reply]
Suhas
3 Sep 10 at 06:41
Its bed news for all cricket’s fans Pakistan teams players always doing fixing and other bad manners work to fight other teams players and abusing players Amir, Butt, and Asif is the black dark circle of cricket wold i want to discontinue from PCB
[Reply]
Megha Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 14:25
Amar
Welcome!
Fixing, bad behaviour, no-good Boards are not just Pakistan’s lot. There are bad apples everywhere.
[Reply]
Amar
3 Sep 10 at 10:52