Another day of shame

From that fateful Sunday at Lords' on August 29 last year, when shocks jolted the entire cricket fraternity as the spot-fixing reports appeared in the now defunct News of the World, the four accused finally met their fate.

 

Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt, two fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer and their agent Mazhar Majeed; all were delivered their prison sentences by Justice Cooke at the Southwark Crown Court.

With a prison sentence for 30 months and a 10-year ban by the International Cricket Council (ICC), 27-year old Salman Butt can well bid adieu to his cricket career (he has filed an appeal against the sentence). His reputation was so tarnished that by the end of the case, he was castigated by the judge as an architect of the scam along with agent Majeed.

Pacer Asif, ranked 2nd in the world when the scandal broke, has been sentenced for 12 months, which along with his 7-year ban by the ICC, means he probably will not be able to return as a bowler. 

The case of Mohammad Aamer evoked most sympathies. A boy wonder, he was hailed by experts as Wasim Akram's potential heir and among the hottest commodities in world cricket. Yet, despite pleading his guilt, he was sentenced for 6 months and with an ICC ban for 5 years, he cannot resume playing till September 2015.

It is pertinent to note that the agent, Mazhar Majeed, was sentenced for 32 months, which means within three years he will be freed with no assurance whether he will return to his mischievous ways or not. Though the verdict itself remains debatable, what is most problematic is that experts are terming it a victory against illegal betting when it is anything but.

The main players, the cartels, the bettors, and those invisible individuals who act like a mafia to engage players in their nefarious activities continue to roam free. The administrator of the game itself, the ICC, and PCB both have to cope with a lot of blame for this fiasco which has tarnished the reputation of this noble game. 

The ICC's expensively assembled Anti-Corruption Unit failed to collect any evidence whereas an investigative journalist did the job for them. Similarly, the PCB only made loud declarations and flimsy investigations trying to hide its failure to act on the Justice Qayyum Report, actively which allowed this menace to grow. Aside from that, questions must be raised of the PCB officials travelling with the team who either failed to do their jobs, or the higher management who refused to support them.

Previously too disciplinarian issues had arisen when Yawar Saeed was the team manager, for showing lack of command. On the other hand, security manager Khawaja Najam Javed had warned players and had also asked manager Saeed to keep an eye on the players. Javed's statement was also used as part of the prosecution. Previously, manager Intikhab Alam also raised concerns during the Australia tour of 2010, yet no concrete action was taken and the same players continued to be selected.

The single, most paramount lesson to be taken out of this shambolic affair is that this should be the last we hear of match-fixing or spot-fixing in relation with Pakistan cricket. The focus should now be on the future and how to go about it. Under the previous leadership of Ejaz Butt, the PCB cultivated a culture of nepotism, lobbying, politicking and dictatorship. Regionalism was considered more important than pure merit. A sense of instability was imbued while sidelining talent. All of this led to factionalism, which caused numerous rifts in the team, resulting in declining performance. This underhand politics, aimed at personal gain at the cost of team unity, has to be eliminated.

The focus of the board must be to breed a culture of honesty and trust, while making policies that are fundamentally player-centric. The team can revert back to its path of success, and salvage its lost glory, only if the players are given adequate financial incentives and a sense of stability and structure is introduced in the team-selection process. What has happened is already in the past. But the future is still to be charted.

Published in Business Recorder (10 November 2011)