Agantrope
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When everything in the background run by a powerful mafia and a **** then what can that poor fellow do?
Shame: Pakistan again in match fixing quagmire
- Thread starter Quickgun Murugan
- Start date
thakur_ritesh
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there was a time when i used to watch this game ball by ball, and if i was not able to do that then used to make sure i am aware about the score on regular basis, today i careless, dosent even matter who wins, who does not. almost all series are fixed. a good example: keep a track on india and srilanka and their bilateral games, there is a trend, not too difficult to pick, and under the same trend india had to loose this final that was played yesterday, similarly india had to win the asia cup and if i go a little back one should recall ind/sl match that was played in the recently held icc t20 world cup, and how india lost that match which we were winning till the dieing moments, a win that was very crucial for the lankans. next big final/big game between these two and i am sure india will win.
then you have that drama called the IPL which is full of crap like those serials on our tv sets!
then you have that drama called the IPL which is full of crap like those serials on our tv sets!
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prototype
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i never found it surprising when players from the sub continent r accused of match fixing,a lot of money is revolving around this guys and most of them r not that saints,add to that this mixing cartel most of the times operate from India
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You guys really have no clue.
this is all conspiracy theory by BCCI and IPL to kill Pakistani cricket. If these guys have allowed them to play in IPL pakistanis where not needing to involve in match fixing.
Hindus are trying to kill pakistani cricket by not allowing them to make money from it.
That guy mazhar is actually a hindu
this is all conspiracy theory by BCCI and IPL to kill Pakistani cricket. If these guys have allowed them to play in IPL pakistanis where not needing to involve in match fixing.
Hindus are trying to kill pakistani cricket by not allowing them to make money from it.
That guy mazhar is actually a hindu
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LONDON: A lot of Pakistani cricketers are "just looking for money, women and food" and very few of them have any love for the game, claims the bookie arrested for alleged 'spot-fixing' in the England-Pakistan Test.
Mazhar Majeed, the bookie who has made sensational claims of bribing Pakistani cricketers for bowling no balls in a sting operation by a British tabloid, claimed a lot of players were only bothered about money.
"You'll find there's only a few players who are genuine and who are actually here for the love of the game, and there's not many believe me. A lot of them are just looking for money, women and food," Majeed has been quoted as saying in the video tapes of the sting released by 'The News of the World'.
"How much they're getting paid is a joke. I came from a football background and I can see the difference in football and cricket. It's huge.
Majeed claimed cheating was not confined to match-fixing alone and that ball tampering had also become regular in the Pakistan team.
"I used to go out on the pitch to give the players their drinks. Whenever we couldn't get a wicket I'd have a lump of Vaseline on my hand. Shake their hand.
"They'd put it on one side of the ball and the ball would suddenly start in-swinging," he said.
Majeed revealed that he wanted Salman Butt to continue as captain for long as possible.
"I give out the information the night before or morning. What's going to happen at the end of the fourth day. But now we are not going to do any results for the next two games because we want Salman Butt to be captain long term," Majeed stated.
Read more: Pak cricketers just want money, women, food: Bookie - Top Stories - Cricket - Sports - The Times of India Pak cricketers just want money, women, food: Bookie - Top Stories - Cricket - Sports - The Times of India
Mazhar Majeed, the bookie who has made sensational claims of bribing Pakistani cricketers for bowling no balls in a sting operation by a British tabloid, claimed a lot of players were only bothered about money.
"You'll find there's only a few players who are genuine and who are actually here for the love of the game, and there's not many believe me. A lot of them are just looking for money, women and food," Majeed has been quoted as saying in the video tapes of the sting released by 'The News of the World'.
"How much they're getting paid is a joke. I came from a football background and I can see the difference in football and cricket. It's huge.
Majeed claimed cheating was not confined to match-fixing alone and that ball tampering had also become regular in the Pakistan team.
"I used to go out on the pitch to give the players their drinks. Whenever we couldn't get a wicket I'd have a lump of Vaseline on my hand. Shake their hand.
"They'd put it on one side of the ball and the ball would suddenly start in-swinging," he said.
Majeed revealed that he wanted Salman Butt to continue as captain for long as possible.
"I give out the information the night before or morning. What's going to happen at the end of the fourth day. But now we are not going to do any results for the next two games because we want Salman Butt to be captain long term," Majeed stated.
Read more: Pak cricketers just want money, women, food: Bookie - Top Stories - Cricket - Sports - The Times of India Pak cricketers just want money, women, food: Bookie - Top Stories - Cricket - Sports - The Times of India
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LONDON/KARACHI: Bookie Mazhar Majeed, who is now reportedly under arrest, said Pakistan captain Salman Butt was involved in the match-fixing and was the ringleader of the scandal in the ongoing fourth Test against England at Lord's.
In a dramatic development the Scotland Yard detectives visited the Pakistan dressing room immediately after the third day's play to question the players after a British tabloid's sting operation exposed the alleged nexus between players and the bookies.
"Scotland Yard detectives had visited the team hotel where they had taken statements of captain Salman Butt, fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, and wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal," Pakistan team manager Yawar Saeed said.
The 'News of the World' tabloid alleged that a Pakistani man Mazhar Majeed, who is now under arrest, had paid bribes to the players to bowl no-balls and wides in the series and the Lord's Test.
The tabloid claims it has video evidence confirming involvement of seven players which it had shared with Scotland Yard triggering off the investigation into the spot-fixing racket.
The International Cricket Council said it was aware of all the developments and made it clear that the fourth day's play of the ongoing Test will continue as scheduled.
"No players nor team officials have been arrested in relation to this incident and the fourth Test match will continue as scheduled on Sunday.
"As this is now subject to a police investigation neither ICC, ECB, PCB nor the ground authority, the MCC, will make any further comment," an ICC statement said.
Yawar said that the investigators also talked to him but denied that they raided the rooms of the players and recovered money and seized their laptops and phones.
"The police have also spoken to me and we are trying to cooperate with them in every way possible and we are giving them what information they want," Yawar said.
But sources said the Scotland Yard detectives gathered some evidence from the hotel after raiding the player's room.
Geo Television has also reported that Scotland Yard have visited the Pakistan team hotel and inspected players rooms and the police is said to have recovered large amounts of money from rooms of some players and also seized their mobile phones.
Confirming that he had contacted the Pakistan High Commission in London for assistance, Yawar said, "the High Commissioner is also in touch with the Scotland Yard in this issue. We are cooperating with them."
Police in London have picked up Majeed and his accomplice in connection with the scandal. Majeed, 35, was arrested late on Saturday night after the tabloid handed over details of its sting operation to the Scotland Yard.
Sources close to the Pakistan team also have confirmed that the police went into Pakistan dressing room in connection with the arrests as Majeed claims to have paid off some players in excess of 150,000 pounds to fix the Test match.
"The police have carried out preliminary questioning of some players. Majeed is an old associate and friend of many Pakistani players and is settled in London. He has been seen regularly with the players on the tour," one source said.
"The sad part for the Pakistan cricket is that several leading players are said to be involved in this new scandal which could cause untold damage to Pakistan cricket," he said.
Pakistani TV channels reported that the players had been sounded off about the inquiry when the third day's play ended.
"That is why the players left early for the hotel without anyone attending the mandatory day's post-play press conference," a source said.
Pakistan had reduced England to 47 for five and then 102 for seven on second day at Lord's but then allowed Jonathan Trott and Stuart Broad to score centuries and share a new record eighth-wicket partnership of 332 runs.
The two Pakistanis who allegedly bowled no-balls under directions from Majeed were Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif. Both bowlers delivered three no-balls on Thursday and Friday.
The two bowlers delivered the no-balls "at precisely the moments promised to our reporter," the tabloid said.
"Our undercover team was posing as front men for a Far East gambling cartel. In return for their suitcase of money Majeed then calmly detailed what would happen - and when - on the field of play next day, as a taster of all the lucrative information he could supply in future," it reported.
Pakistan was bowled out for 74 on Saturday and made to follow-on where they reduced to 41 for four at stumps facing certain defeat and a big series loss.
While match-fixing is fixing the result of the whole match, the spot-fixing is fixing events within a match, may be on ball-by-ball basis.
This is not the first time that Akmal's name has come up in a match fixing allegation.
After Australian tour earlier this year, former Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam and assistant coach Aaqib Javed (who is still with the team) had expressed suspicions about Kamran's involvement with bookies after assessing his performance in the Sydney Test.
Meanwhile, Iqbal Mohammad Ali who heads National Assembly Standing Committee on Sports blamed the PCB and its Chairman Ijaz Butt for the humiliation Pakistan cricket was facing.
"We and the Senate sports committee had warned that if some players were suspected of having ties with bookies they should be dropped from the team and disciplined.
"But no one paid heed. If these players are now guilty we want to see them behind the bars because this conduct is unacceptable," Ali said.
Read more: Pakistan-England match-fixing scandal: Butt is ringleader, alleges bookie - Top Stories - Cricket - Sports - The Times of India Pakistan-England match-fixing scandal: Butt is ringleader, alleges bookie - Top Stories - Cricket - Sports - The Times of India
In a dramatic development the Scotland Yard detectives visited the Pakistan dressing room immediately after the third day's play to question the players after a British tabloid's sting operation exposed the alleged nexus between players and the bookies.
"Scotland Yard detectives had visited the team hotel where they had taken statements of captain Salman Butt, fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, and wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal," Pakistan team manager Yawar Saeed said.
The 'News of the World' tabloid alleged that a Pakistani man Mazhar Majeed, who is now under arrest, had paid bribes to the players to bowl no-balls and wides in the series and the Lord's Test.
The tabloid claims it has video evidence confirming involvement of seven players which it had shared with Scotland Yard triggering off the investigation into the spot-fixing racket.
The International Cricket Council said it was aware of all the developments and made it clear that the fourth day's play of the ongoing Test will continue as scheduled.
"No players nor team officials have been arrested in relation to this incident and the fourth Test match will continue as scheduled on Sunday.
"As this is now subject to a police investigation neither ICC, ECB, PCB nor the ground authority, the MCC, will make any further comment," an ICC statement said.
Yawar said that the investigators also talked to him but denied that they raided the rooms of the players and recovered money and seized their laptops and phones.
"The police have also spoken to me and we are trying to cooperate with them in every way possible and we are giving them what information they want," Yawar said.
But sources said the Scotland Yard detectives gathered some evidence from the hotel after raiding the player's room.
Geo Television has also reported that Scotland Yard have visited the Pakistan team hotel and inspected players rooms and the police is said to have recovered large amounts of money from rooms of some players and also seized their mobile phones.
Confirming that he had contacted the Pakistan High Commission in London for assistance, Yawar said, "the High Commissioner is also in touch with the Scotland Yard in this issue. We are cooperating with them."
Police in London have picked up Majeed and his accomplice in connection with the scandal. Majeed, 35, was arrested late on Saturday night after the tabloid handed over details of its sting operation to the Scotland Yard.
Sources close to the Pakistan team also have confirmed that the police went into Pakistan dressing room in connection with the arrests as Majeed claims to have paid off some players in excess of 150,000 pounds to fix the Test match.
"The police have carried out preliminary questioning of some players. Majeed is an old associate and friend of many Pakistani players and is settled in London. He has been seen regularly with the players on the tour," one source said.
"The sad part for the Pakistan cricket is that several leading players are said to be involved in this new scandal which could cause untold damage to Pakistan cricket," he said.
Pakistani TV channels reported that the players had been sounded off about the inquiry when the third day's play ended.
"That is why the players left early for the hotel without anyone attending the mandatory day's post-play press conference," a source said.
Pakistan had reduced England to 47 for five and then 102 for seven on second day at Lord's but then allowed Jonathan Trott and Stuart Broad to score centuries and share a new record eighth-wicket partnership of 332 runs.
The two Pakistanis who allegedly bowled no-balls under directions from Majeed were Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif. Both bowlers delivered three no-balls on Thursday and Friday.
The two bowlers delivered the no-balls "at precisely the moments promised to our reporter," the tabloid said.
"Our undercover team was posing as front men for a Far East gambling cartel. In return for their suitcase of money Majeed then calmly detailed what would happen - and when - on the field of play next day, as a taster of all the lucrative information he could supply in future," it reported.
Pakistan was bowled out for 74 on Saturday and made to follow-on where they reduced to 41 for four at stumps facing certain defeat and a big series loss.
While match-fixing is fixing the result of the whole match, the spot-fixing is fixing events within a match, may be on ball-by-ball basis.
This is not the first time that Akmal's name has come up in a match fixing allegation.
After Australian tour earlier this year, former Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam and assistant coach Aaqib Javed (who is still with the team) had expressed suspicions about Kamran's involvement with bookies after assessing his performance in the Sydney Test.
Meanwhile, Iqbal Mohammad Ali who heads National Assembly Standing Committee on Sports blamed the PCB and its Chairman Ijaz Butt for the humiliation Pakistan cricket was facing.
"We and the Senate sports committee had warned that if some players were suspected of having ties with bookies they should be dropped from the team and disciplined.
"But no one paid heed. If these players are now guilty we want to see them behind the bars because this conduct is unacceptable," Ali said.
Read more: Pakistan-England match-fixing scandal: Butt is ringleader, alleges bookie - Top Stories - Cricket - Sports - The Times of India Pakistan-England match-fixing scandal: Butt is ringleader, alleges bookie - Top Stories - Cricket - Sports - The Times of India
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LONDON: The bookie arrested by Scotland Yard for alleged 'spot-fixing' in the ongoing England- Pakistan Lord's Test claims to have links with bookmakers in India as well.
Mazhar Majeed, 35, told an undercover reporter of 'The News of the World' during a sting operation that there are no major activities when the "Indian market is not open".
Pakistan captain Salman Butt, pace duo of Muhammad Asif and Muhammad Aamir and four other players were questioned by the Scotland Yard detectives after the bookie, in the video of the sting operation, claimed that the team bowled no balls for money during the match.
In the the same recording, Majeed claims to know bookmakers in India as well.
"....in terms of results, depending on who we are playing, sometimes it can be 300,000 pounds. The max it can be is 450,000 pounds. You can speak to any bookie in India and they will tell you about this information and how much they'll pay. If you had the information and they knew that it was coming from the source they'd pay you that money themselves," he is quoted as saying.
"I deal with an Indian party. They pay me for the information."
In one conversation, the tabloid reported that "to hammer home the amounts of money our man could win, Majeed called an Indian bookie he regularly deals with and asked him how much he would pay for a definite Oval Test result. Majeed demanded 1.2million dollars but the bookie replied, 'I'll give you one (million)'."
Despite the scandal, the fourth day's play of the match would go ahead as scheduled on Sunday
Read more: Match-fixing scandal: Arrested bookie claims Indian link - Top Stories - Cricket - Sports - The Times of India Match-fixing scandal: Arrested bookie claims Indian link - Top Stories - Cricket - Sports - The Times of India
Mazhar Majeed, 35, told an undercover reporter of 'The News of the World' during a sting operation that there are no major activities when the "Indian market is not open".
Pakistan captain Salman Butt, pace duo of Muhammad Asif and Muhammad Aamir and four other players were questioned by the Scotland Yard detectives after the bookie, in the video of the sting operation, claimed that the team bowled no balls for money during the match.
In the the same recording, Majeed claims to know bookmakers in India as well.
"....in terms of results, depending on who we are playing, sometimes it can be 300,000 pounds. The max it can be is 450,000 pounds. You can speak to any bookie in India and they will tell you about this information and how much they'll pay. If you had the information and they knew that it was coming from the source they'd pay you that money themselves," he is quoted as saying.
"I deal with an Indian party. They pay me for the information."
In one conversation, the tabloid reported that "to hammer home the amounts of money our man could win, Majeed called an Indian bookie he regularly deals with and asked him how much he would pay for a definite Oval Test result. Majeed demanded 1.2million dollars but the bookie replied, 'I'll give you one (million)'."
Despite the scandal, the fourth day's play of the match would go ahead as scheduled on Sunday
Read more: Match-fixing scandal: Arrested bookie claims Indian link - Top Stories - Cricket - Sports - The Times of India Match-fixing scandal: Arrested bookie claims Indian link - Top Stories - Cricket - Sports - The Times of India
johnee
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Funny, but what you say is backed by stats. In the recent past India and Sri Lanka have played matches against each other. Both have almost won equal number of matches. That means for every match the India won against Sri Lanka, it lost a match....
The hitting of Dhoni to land Chennai into final was almost unbelievable. Add to it that the owner of Chennai team is a powerful member of BCCI. Then Chennai won IPL. To me, it was suspect...
Illusive
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The game shouldn't suffer for players like these, already cricket is not so popular game of the world. But why always Pakistani players, i mean the west indies players don't get paid well too, that doesnt mean they betray their country and fans. Ban Pakistan from playing international cricket for the spirit of the game.
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Just check how many times PCB has allowed the players to play for Pakistan without any punishment despite their involvement in match-fixing.
smartindian
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please dont bring religion in to it, ok please tell me what proof do you have. even some people give them an offer who told them betray their country.You guys really have no clue.
this is all conspiracy theory by BCCI and IPL to kill Pakistani cricket. If these guys have allowed them to play in IPL pakistanis where not needing to involve in match fixing.
Hindus are trying to kill pakistani cricket by not allowing them to make money from it.
That guy mazhar is actually a hindu
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BAN 'EM FOR LIFE!
SAD DAY FOR MY GAME
Pakistan betting scandal taints a great sport, says Richie Benaud
By SAM PETERS, 28/08/2010
ON FRIDAY night I sat questioning Stuart Broad about his maiden Test hundred at Lord's, full of admiration for a young man who had fulfilled his childhood dream.
Broad beamed with joy at the prospect of exchanging some good-hearted banter with his dad, Chris, over his father's own personal failure to make it onto the honours board at the home of cricket.
His voice cracked only slightly when he spoke with pride about how his late step-mother Miche, who lost her fight with motor neurone disease in July, was on his mind for every minute of his innings.
His chest puffed up when he realised he and his father had become the first father and son both to score Test-match hundreds.
Sorry Stuart, it means nothing.
On Saturday morning I walked in through the Lord's gates and saw a boy, perhaps eight years old, pulling at his dad's coat tails full of excitement at the thought of watching live Test cricket for the first time.
His dad smiled as the boy struggled to contain his joy at the prospect of seeing his heroes play.
No doubt that boy would have loved every minute of what, on the surface, appeared to be another enthralling day of Test cricket.
Sorry son, it meant nothing.
On Saturday Steve Finn, a 21-year-old England fast bowler who has grafted to reach the top of the game, picked up three wickets in front of his doting parents.
Finn's joy as he was embraced by his new team-mates encapsulated everything that is good about team sport.
Sorry Steve, it meant nothing.
At the start of this now forever to be tarnished Test series, Salman Butt told us a winning national team could put the smile back on the faces of Pakistan's stricken people after the devastating floods.
Millions of cricket-mad fans have lost their homes and were looking to Butt and his men to provide some solace in these horrendous times.
Butt promised them just that.
His words meant nothing.
This Test match, this series, will forever be tarnished. It could even be wiped from the records entirely.
Because even mention of the Fourth Test tarnishes the name of a sport so many of us hold dear. I watched the tapes of these sordid transactions take place yesterday alongside Richie Benaud, a man whose integrity can never be questioned, and I felt physically sick.
Benaud should not have to witness such an abuse of the game he has graced for more than 60 years. How dare these criminals, because that is what they are, steal the very soul of OUR game?
How dare these criminals rob Broad of his dreams?
How dare these criminals steal a child's innocence?
Anyone with an ounce of human decency cannot fail to be appalled by the actions of a team who, by placing avarice ahead of integrity, have rocked cricket to its very foundations.
Anyone who loves cricket, and believe me there are many, will want anyone found guilty of taking money to alter the course of a game, to be handed the severest of punishments.
It is time for the ICC to stand up and prove they are not the bunch of spineless pen-pushing technocrats so many of us suspect them to be.
Action has to be taken, because every single one of the 28,500 spectators who paid up to £90 to watch a meaningless Test match yesterday deserves answers.
Stuart Broad deserves answers.
That little boy deserves answers.
They want to know what the hell is going on in our game. It is more than 10 years since the Hansie Cronje scandal first raised the spectre of illegal gambling in cricket.
At the end of last year, the finger of suspicion landed squarely at Pakistan's door following their calamitous second Test display against Australia.
At the start of this summer, Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria was allegedly involved, along with his Essex team-mate Mervyn Westfield, in spot-fixing.
And now this.
Lifetime bans must be handed out, prison sentences if necessary, because at the moment we are all being made fools of.
Any freak result, any questionable call, is now going to be highlighted as a possible act of treachery.
And rightly so.
Until this cancer of corruption has been forever eradicated from our sport, its integrity will continue to be questioned.
As for the rest of this Pakistan tour, how on earth can it continue?
Arrests are expected to be made, with up to seven of the team playing in Saturday's excuse for a game likely to spend time in police custody.
How much remains to be seen, but whatever happens between now and the first Twenty20 game scheduled for next Sunday in Cardiff, cricket will be on the front pages for all the wrong reasons.
Whoever the personnel wearing the Pakistan shirt, they will be suspected of being cheats.
The ECB should do the honourable thing and cancel the two Twenty20 games and the ensuing five-match one-day series. The upcoming one-dayers should be called off now to allow the sport time to catch its breath and establish clear, stringent guidelines to prevent this ever happening again.
Don't hold your breath.
Sadly the ECB have a sorry history of putting financial gain ahead of doing the right thing.
They have an opportunity this week to change that by ending this sorry tour and implementing change in a sport that has lost its soul.
Sport only works when trust is maintained - and cricket is no longer trusted by the people who matter most, the paying spectators.
Cricket faces a pivotal moment in its history. If the administrators fail in their duty it will never recover.
How many more times must our sport be dragged through the mire before action is taken?
How many more times will cheats be allowed to flourish in a game where sportsmanship and honesty were once by-words?
Yesterday, that little boy watched on as Pakistan crumbled pathetically for the umpteenth time this series.
Who knows if they'd got wind of the News of the World being on to them?
They will lose this Test, and the series, and should hang their heads in shame.
They've cheated that little boy, they've cheated Stuart Broad, they've cheated the people of Pakistan. They've cheated all of us.
Cricket's name? At the moment, it means nothing.
ON FRIDAY night I sat questioning Stuart Broad about his maiden Test hundred at Lord’s, full of admiration for a young man who had fulfilled his childhood dream. | News Of The World
SAD DAY FOR MY GAME
Pakistan betting scandal taints a great sport, says Richie Benaud
By SAM PETERS, 28/08/2010
ON FRIDAY night I sat questioning Stuart Broad about his maiden Test hundred at Lord's, full of admiration for a young man who had fulfilled his childhood dream.
Broad beamed with joy at the prospect of exchanging some good-hearted banter with his dad, Chris, over his father's own personal failure to make it onto the honours board at the home of cricket.
His voice cracked only slightly when he spoke with pride about how his late step-mother Miche, who lost her fight with motor neurone disease in July, was on his mind for every minute of his innings.
His chest puffed up when he realised he and his father had become the first father and son both to score Test-match hundreds.
Sorry Stuart, it means nothing.
On Saturday morning I walked in through the Lord's gates and saw a boy, perhaps eight years old, pulling at his dad's coat tails full of excitement at the thought of watching live Test cricket for the first time.
His dad smiled as the boy struggled to contain his joy at the prospect of seeing his heroes play.
No doubt that boy would have loved every minute of what, on the surface, appeared to be another enthralling day of Test cricket.
Sorry son, it meant nothing.
On Saturday Steve Finn, a 21-year-old England fast bowler who has grafted to reach the top of the game, picked up three wickets in front of his doting parents.
Finn's joy as he was embraced by his new team-mates encapsulated everything that is good about team sport.
Sorry Steve, it meant nothing.
At the start of this now forever to be tarnished Test series, Salman Butt told us a winning national team could put the smile back on the faces of Pakistan's stricken people after the devastating floods.
Millions of cricket-mad fans have lost their homes and were looking to Butt and his men to provide some solace in these horrendous times.
Butt promised them just that.
His words meant nothing.
This Test match, this series, will forever be tarnished. It could even be wiped from the records entirely.
Because even mention of the Fourth Test tarnishes the name of a sport so many of us hold dear. I watched the tapes of these sordid transactions take place yesterday alongside Richie Benaud, a man whose integrity can never be questioned, and I felt physically sick.
Benaud should not have to witness such an abuse of the game he has graced for more than 60 years. How dare these criminals, because that is what they are, steal the very soul of OUR game?
How dare these criminals rob Broad of his dreams?
How dare these criminals steal a child's innocence?
Anyone with an ounce of human decency cannot fail to be appalled by the actions of a team who, by placing avarice ahead of integrity, have rocked cricket to its very foundations.
Anyone who loves cricket, and believe me there are many, will want anyone found guilty of taking money to alter the course of a game, to be handed the severest of punishments.
It is time for the ICC to stand up and prove they are not the bunch of spineless pen-pushing technocrats so many of us suspect them to be.
Action has to be taken, because every single one of the 28,500 spectators who paid up to £90 to watch a meaningless Test match yesterday deserves answers.
Stuart Broad deserves answers.
That little boy deserves answers.
They want to know what the hell is going on in our game. It is more than 10 years since the Hansie Cronje scandal first raised the spectre of illegal gambling in cricket.
At the end of last year, the finger of suspicion landed squarely at Pakistan's door following their calamitous second Test display against Australia.
At the start of this summer, Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria was allegedly involved, along with his Essex team-mate Mervyn Westfield, in spot-fixing.
And now this.
Lifetime bans must be handed out, prison sentences if necessary, because at the moment we are all being made fools of.
Any freak result, any questionable call, is now going to be highlighted as a possible act of treachery.
And rightly so.
Until this cancer of corruption has been forever eradicated from our sport, its integrity will continue to be questioned.
As for the rest of this Pakistan tour, how on earth can it continue?
Arrests are expected to be made, with up to seven of the team playing in Saturday's excuse for a game likely to spend time in police custody.
How much remains to be seen, but whatever happens between now and the first Twenty20 game scheduled for next Sunday in Cardiff, cricket will be on the front pages for all the wrong reasons.
Whoever the personnel wearing the Pakistan shirt, they will be suspected of being cheats.
The ECB should do the honourable thing and cancel the two Twenty20 games and the ensuing five-match one-day series. The upcoming one-dayers should be called off now to allow the sport time to catch its breath and establish clear, stringent guidelines to prevent this ever happening again.
Don't hold your breath.
Sadly the ECB have a sorry history of putting financial gain ahead of doing the right thing.
They have an opportunity this week to change that by ending this sorry tour and implementing change in a sport that has lost its soul.
Sport only works when trust is maintained - and cricket is no longer trusted by the people who matter most, the paying spectators.
Cricket faces a pivotal moment in its history. If the administrators fail in their duty it will never recover.
How many more times must our sport be dragged through the mire before action is taken?
How many more times will cheats be allowed to flourish in a game where sportsmanship and honesty were once by-words?
Yesterday, that little boy watched on as Pakistan crumbled pathetically for the umpteenth time this series.
Who knows if they'd got wind of the News of the World being on to them?
They will lose this Test, and the series, and should hang their heads in shame.
They've cheated that little boy, they've cheated Stuart Broad, they've cheated the people of Pakistan. They've cheated all of us.
Cricket's name? At the moment, it means nothing.
ON FRIDAY night I sat questioning Stuart Broad about his maiden Test hundred at Lord’s, full of admiration for a young man who had fulfilled his childhood dream. | News Of The World
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Match fixing and Pakistan cricket team had become synonyms of each other. Why dont PCB do something permanent about it? I ,really, from the bottom of my heart wants to see that old 2003 Pakistan Cricket team playing against the world specially India.
What a time it was!!! People watch India vs Pakistan like anything. They die to see those matches. And the players also put their 100% that time but now the scenario seems to have been changed. Their is not much patriotism left in the players and they just play for money. Not only Pakistan players but also the India cricket team have become money minded. The difference is just India players earn legally.
What a time it was!!! People watch India vs Pakistan like anything. They die to see those matches. And the players also put their 100% that time but now the scenario seems to have been changed. Their is not much patriotism left in the players and they just play for money. Not only Pakistan players but also the India cricket team have become money minded. The difference is just India players earn legally.
thakur_ritesh
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i am not so sure about the semis and finals being fixed but if you go back to the preliminary stage, kings XI punjab and the rajasthan royals had lost their 1st 3 matches on a trot, and the whole drama being staged was getting too bouring and one sided and both these teams had been written off to the extent warne went on to say that his kid's team would beat his and then all of a sudden both won their 4th matches
.post that till the very end you could not figure out who would make to the semis, there was this huge suspense. by then only 2 slots which had been decided 1) mumbai enters semis, and 2) punjab is out, but the other 6 were still trying to fight it out for the 3 semi slots. oh the tamasha excitement.
but then when there are 1000s of rupees (billions of dollars) at stake either by way of betting or by way of corporate interests then profit is more important than a game, and in the end most players, officials right from national cricket admin to icc being made a part of the deal is no big deal.
by the way is it not the soccer where most betting and match fixing is done?
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Match fixing is here to stay in cricket. Who knows some players in the current Indian team may be involved in match fixing. Many of the IPL matches were fixed. Even the IPL auction is fixed. It is all about money. If by bowling few no balls in a test match you can earn more than your match fee; that is not a bad deal!!
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@Z and SB -> Finally evidence of the mythical Punjabi Mafia in Pak cricket, brap brap !!
@NSG -> IPL scandals doesn't involve senior players. Top players like Dhoni, Tendulkar etc are definitely not involved in Match fixing they make far too much money.
As per what I have read, ICC is responsible for spot-fixing so PCB can't shield its players.
PS: One of the way to "fix" matchfixing worldwide is by legalizing betting in India.
@NSG -> IPL scandals doesn't involve senior players. Top players like Dhoni, Tendulkar etc are definitely not involved in Match fixing they make far too much money.
As per what I have read, ICC is responsible for spot-fixing so PCB can't shield its players.
PS: One of the way to "fix" matchfixing worldwide is by legalizing betting in India.
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Now what does India have to do in fixing with Pakistan? How will matchfixing stop by just legalizing betting and bookies in India.?
Instead it will ruin the Indian Cricket.
johnee
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India and Aussie players may not be tempted so easily to fix internation matches. They earn a lot and why would they risk it all. The easiest targets are Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Pakistan particularly because they have not played IPL also twice.
It seems the fixer is saying that the racket has been in place for two years and peculiarly it is the players that approached him.
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