Guilty as charged

Pakistan's cricket continues in its topsy-turvy ways as two instances of good news were offset with one long-expected confession. Merely days after Pakistan whipped the Zimbabwe cricket team in the ODI series, the news of Aleem Dar's hat-trick of David Shepherd Trophy for Umpire of the Year award at the ICC Awards ceremony sent a wave of positivity among the cricketing fraternity in the country.

However, in an unexpected move, the much-maligned pace bowler Mohammad Aamer, along with the players' agent Mazhar Majeed, confessed to his involvement in last year's spot-fixing scandal in the UK. Aamer gave his written statement, which says he was coerced to bowl the no-balls, to the Southwark Crown Court in London where hearing of this case is taking place.

All three players -- Aamer, Muhammad Asif and Salman Butt -- of the spot-fixing controversy last year are facing criminal charges on the counts of accepting corrupt payments and attempting to cheat. Asif and Butt will appear in court on October 4. These criminal charges were brought against them by England's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) around the same time the International Cricket Council (ICC) found the players guilty and handed out bans which effectively ended Asif and Butt's careers.

While it is difficult to categorically state Aamer's motives for accepting involvement, the most obvious reason seems to be the hope to get some leniency from the Court as the 19-year-old still has a chance to make a comeback in five years. Although there are conflicting opinions on how his statement will reflect on the court's decision next month, Aamer's acceptance of his responsibility is a positive development for the cricketer and Pakistani cricket.

For too long our cricketers and many of their supporters have turned a blind-eye to the very obvious reality of spot-fixing, which was eventually substantiated during a Test match at Lord's against England. Astonishingly, some section of our media also vehemently cried hoarse about an "international conspiracy" to defame the country by attacking its star players. This denial has gone on long enough.

It is time to call a spade just what it is, a spade. Thankfully, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has, under the directives of the ICC, taken some productive steps to ensure such incidents are not repeated. It has introduced stringent anti-corruption clauses in the players' contracts and has appointed Wasim Bari to monitor the players, educate them on how to avoid falling into the seductive trap of quick money as well as make them aware of the penalties. The PCB should have taken these steps long ago since, owing to the young age and low economic background of many players, there has always been a need to educate them about their civic duties and moral obligations.

While there is a good chance the players were coerced into this particular spot-fixing controversy, it still does not diminish the unfortunate fact that the incident took place because of their actions as proven in the ICC's hearings. The only credible thing left to do now is to accept responsibility for what they did wrong. Notwithstanding the infamy and shame this scandal brought to Pakistan, people of this country have enough love in their hearts to forgive our cricketers. However, it is time for some tough-love and for that, the nation needs some closure which can only come from the players willingness to correct their wrongs by accepting their actions.

Published in Business Recorder (25 September 2011).