Editorial: Careers on the line

OPINION: It was a compelling performance, one that would have held any true cricket fan spellbound.

As batsman after batsman came and went, unable to cope with the vicious swing he was generating – helped by the heavy cloud cover – 18-year-old Mohammad Amir closed inexorably on an amazing achievement. He was set to become the youngest player ever to earn a place on the honours board at the fabled Lord's ground, the spiritual home of the sport.

By the end of the day, despite a huge unbroken stand for England's ninth wicket, the teenage left-arm paceman with the ready smile had six wickets under his belt, one more than the five needed to get his name on that board, and a place in history.

But what should have been a relatively short stay in the full glare of the spotlight – after all, the match had to move on and England were to steamroll Pakistan's brittle batting order – was about to be dramatically extended, as tabloid newspaper The News of the World published allegations that Amir and fellow opening bowler Mohammad Asif had bowled no-balls to order, at the behest of illegal bookmakers. Captain Salman Butt and wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal were also drawn into the web of accusations.

Video shot by the newspaper, as part of a sting operation, showed an agent allegedly promising a contact – actually a reporter – that no-balls would be bowled on the first ball of the third over, and the last ball of the 10th, in England's first innings at Lord's.

They were. The first, by Amir, saw him blatantly overstep the bowling crease, while Asif's no-ball at the end of the 10th over was not nearly as pronounced.

Naturally this so-called "spot-fixing" has led to howls of outrage from all over the cricketing world, prompting comparisons with the match-fixing engaged in by late South African captain Hansie Cronje a decade ago. And naturally it has led to calls for harsh punishments for those involved, even life bans. Which is surely the only way to eradicate the scourge of tampering with matches, paid for, it seems, by illegal bookmakers in cricket-crazy India.

But there needs to be a rider to that, and that is that the situation must be comprehensively investigated to establish the relative degrees of blame of those involved. In 2000, Cronje received a life ban, but others who had been manipulated by him, like hugely talented young opening batsman Herschelle Gibbs, received shorter bans. It cost them money and international playing time, but not their careers.

In this case, those at the heart of the alleged corruption should be banned for life, and face any associated legal consequences. But it's hard to believe that someone as young and talented as Amir hasn't been taken advantage of in this situation.

His punishment should fit his crime, but his career should not be ended without absolutely damning evidence of wilful corruption on his part.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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