We first posted this last September in the wake of the News of the World bombshell. Given the extraordinary developments in court today, it sums up our overwhelming sadness that Mohammad Aamer, the best young bowler we have seen is caught up in all this. ________________________________________________________________________________________
No guesses for the story that is dominating cricket this week. With the ICC now having charged Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer, the affair seems to be heading for an inevitably tragic conclusion.
We weren’t shocked to hear that spot-fixing was going on in cricket, and sadly we weren’t surprised that the Pakistan cricket team seems to be at the centre of it, but we were stunned to read that it now appears that the dirty tentacles of corruption now seems to have got a hold on test cricket.
The overwhelming feeling is one of sadness. Sadness for the game that we love. Sadness that the brilliant achievements of Jonathan Trott and Stuart Broad will be forever tarnished. And if the allegations are true, sadness for the three players involved.
Like many, we had been impressed at the Reverse Sweep by the intelligence and dignified nature of Salman Butt's fledgling leadership and thought that at last Pakistan had found a captain that could lead it out of the wilderness. It was also good to see that the flawed talent of Mohammad Asif was beginning to flourish after his colourful past record of misdemeanours. Here was a bowler with the metronomic accuracy of a Glenn McGrath and exquisite control, who lest it not be forgotten took his 100th test wicket in only his 19th test earlier in this ill-fated series.
But the worst news of all was that this ghastly mess seems to have entangled the boy-genius Mohammad Aamer. At his age, the only spots he should be concerned with are those that can be eliminated by Biactol.
At the time of writing, it is only a week since Aamer was in the middle of taking six English wickets at Lord's and delivering one of the finest spells of bowling ever witnessed at the old ground. Throughout the summer, Aamer has bowled fabulously and with real cunning. He has a mastery of swinging the ball both ways, conventionally and reverse, that belies his tender years. In short, Aamer is arguably the finest bowler of his age that has ever graced the game. For him to be caught up in all this is an absolute tragedy.
We are not adopting the “hang ‘em high” approach of many (mostly non-cricket) commentators who have written about the scandal this week. It is right that the three will not participate in the upcoming Twenty 20 and one day series; feelings are running too high for that. But the ICC needs to complete their investigation swiftly and establish three main things. First, are the players in question guilty? Second, if so, what were their motives? And third, is this just the tip of a rather large iceberg?
All these points are important, but let’s take a closer look at the second and third. If Butt, Asif and Aamer are guilty, it is crucial to find out why they did it. The obvious one is that it was purely for money. But what if they were unwilling participants and were forced to do what they did because of threats that had been made to their families back in Pakistan?
The third point is also vitally important. Is this just the tip of a Titanic sized iceberg or an isolated incident? Are other players in the Pakistan team involved and does it just stop at the odd no-ball, or are matches being thrown too? And is this problem just confined to Pakistan? Or is corruption endemic within the game? Those are some pretty meaty questions for the ICC to investigate over the coming weeks.
Once the guilt or otherwise of the players has been established and once we understand why, the ICC will need to hand out appropriate punishment. The severity of the sanctions will need to strike a balance between sending out a strong message to others and the seriousness of the crime, but take any extenuating circumstances into account. For instance if the motive was purely money, then the experienced Asif and the skipper Butt should expect a severe punishment - perhaps even the ultimate sanction of a life ban.
With Aamer we have no doubt that he would been led astray by others and as such, when taking into account that he is still a boy, the punishment should be less severe. Admittedly, we make that statement as cricket fans that have been captivated by the brilliance of the boy-man. But compassion and forgiveness are an indication of being virtuous and that is how the ICC should behave as far as Aamer is concerned. If the size of the no-balls are anything to go by, it would suggest that if Aamer was doing it deliberately, he hadn’t had much practice.
But like Michael Holding on the Sky Sports commentary last week, we just find this whole mess just desperately sad.
Where next?
Butt, Asif and Aamer guilty verdicts prompts more questions than answers
Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif & some MCC members with a bow and arrow
Disgraced Butt, Aamer and Asif hit a new low
Is this the most blatant example of a fixed cricket match ever?
A canned Hollywood film about cricket, fixing and a homeless team
England vs Pakistan: 4th test - Pakistan marks out of ten
The next 11 crazy events involving the Pakistan cricket team
Revealed: New PCB Player Code of Conduct
Yasir Hameed: Better than Bradman?
Check out all our other Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes
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descian should be made urgently because if they not be proved faulty then who will be responsible for all that i dont know why it takes so long if they are accused should be punished without wasting of time other wise shold be removed ban from them immediately.
Posted by: gullo | Tuesday, December 14, 2010 at 10:24