Match-fixing

         - Will it go away?

Match-fixing did not start with Butt and company, nor with Hansie Cronje or very our own, Azzaruddin. The pioneers of this sport within the great game of cricket are the Aussies. Today they look smug and talk about the defect in Pakistanis and “sub-continent” cultures. It does not matter that the loudest of them are professed gamblers, but they are protected by the law of their land. It hardly matters that in our country they will be considered criminals; hence they speak with the innocence of the ignorant – especially in matters of culture! So, in politeness, I will keep away from a culture debate, where Australia is concerned.

Match-fixing has always existed in some form or the other – and I can say with a fair degree of certainty that this will continue in many forms – now that it has been adopted and refined by the “private underground sector” mainly marshaled by the Indians.

To some extent, till India won the Prudential Cup in 1983 nobody bothered about the subcontinent teams at all. In fact even till the nineties, betting and fixing was on a very primitive scale – and very few even turned up to watch the subcontinent teams play. Cricket was the white man’s game; it was supposed to be cultured and gentlemanly. The ungentlemanly part of it was well hidden – thanks to the lack of technology and the media presence. Also the ungentlemanly part was well taken care of within closed doors and silent wrap on the knuckles or by scratching each other’s back – very like the way the Australians have taken discreet care of their own when their players were caught with their pants down or in illegal dealings! Are examples necessary? Well.

One that comes readily to mind is the oft mentioned 3^rd test at Headingly between England and Australia in 1981. This was the game when the great Rod Marsh and Dennis Lillee bet money on themselves to lose the match! Lillee later admitted, “While Australia looked like winning the test, he could not resist the 500 to 1 odds for England”. The concerned boards did not take any action, perhaps laughing it off. The players continued to play and everyone continued to respect and admire them. Even today, they are treated like royalty and make a decent pile from the game. Can you imagine this today – especially if subcontinent players are involved?

This was a match where Australia was very well placed to win the match after having given a follow on to England. Needing only 130 runs to win on the final day, Australia were bowled out for 111, though at one stage they were 56 for 1 and seemingly, cruising home. This was only the second time in Test match history that the side following on has come from behind and won the match. If anyone want to check out the scores the link below will take you there:

http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/63291.html

Similar leniency by Australia in dealing with players who were paid to advice bookmakers helped to encourage match fixing in international cricket. The famous case in point is that of Mark Waugh and Shane Warne having admitted that they advised bookies about the weather and pitch conditions and received money for it. The Australian Cricket Board handled the matter with absolute secrecy and fined the players sometimes in 1995. The case was not made public till the incident was uncovered by the media in December 1998.

Today, the current Aussie players are coming out of the closet to say, “They were also approached by Indian bookies” – but then, they also state that, “they had informed their management about it”, and, I am sure their management will stand by them. Of course they did not say how much they profited from that meeting.