Editorial: Test of will

OPINION: The allegation of match-fixing by Pakistani cricketers in their test match against England has yet to be fully proven.

Yet such has been the number of substantiated cases of corruption in the sport, and the many more rumours of match-fixing or spot-fixing, that the latest claim will seem credible to many cricket fans. If it is confirmed that a newspaper bought, from a middleman, details of when two Pakistani bowlers would deliver no-balls, the pressure will be on the International Cricket Council (ICC) and Pakistan cricket authorities to take resolute action.

Pakistan is not the only team against which claims of corruption have been made, as other cricket nations, notably South Africa and India, have also had their own rogue players. Yet for well over a decade now Pakistan has been to the fore when it comes to suspicions of match-fixing, not to mention ball tampering.

This latest allegation will inevitably cause questions to be asked about whether the outcome of this latest test was contrived, as well as an earlier dubious result this year when Pakistan toured Australia.

With Pakistan due to tour New Zealand later this year there will also be doubts about the integrity of its matches here. New Zealand Cricket chief executive Justin Vaughan has called for justice to be swiftly meted out if the current allegation is proved. But he is naive to believe that betting practices could not extend to New Zealand given the vast sums of money at stake on cricket bets in the sub-continent and the financial gains for unscrupulous players.

Pakistan authorities have said that any players found guilty of corruption would face life bans from the sport. This sounds like an appropriate response, but already the former Pakistan fast bowler Sarfraz Nawaz has publicly questioned whether the team management and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) would really have the toughness to deal with the problem.

And the judge who inquired into match-fixing claims in Pakistan cricket a decade ago has said that the PCB had not been strong enough to implement all his recommendations, including annual examinations of players' assets.

In the current case, once the immediate outrage over the betting claim has abated the PCB might be reluctant to impose life bans on players who have offended, especially if one is the fast-bowling prodigy Mohammad Amir.

This would place Pakistan at odds with some other cricket nations, such as New Zealand, Australia and England. Yet it is a reality that Pakistan and the other sub-continent nations are the political and financial powers in World Cricket.

This has been shown by the decision of NZC to schedule international commitments around the Indian Premier League, to ensure New Zealand players can play in this lucrative tournament. And although former Australian Prime Minister John Howard was not the ideal person to become the ICC vice-president, the muscle of the sub-continent nations helped ensure he was rejected.New Zealander Alan Isaac, who did get the job and will take over as ICC president in two years time, has said one of his key jobs will be to improve the ICC's image that it is ineffectual. Part of this challenge must be striving to ensure that all cricket authorities take tough action when cases of match-fixing and other cheating are detected.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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Yeild   #1   03:23 pm Aug 31 2010

Surely there are far more important things to do with Pakistan right now than this?

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