Pakistan Match-Fixing

[beads6]

We bloody knew it last summer when they threw the match at the SCG against the Aussies. I wouldn't let them play International cricket at all.

 

[JJ]

We bloody knew it last summer when they threw the match at the SCG against the Aussies. I wouldn't let them play International cricket at all.

Perhaps the one in NZ too... but doesn't sound like it's the whole team, and hard to be sure...

But with question marks like this, and pretty good evidence that players are doing things on instruction, they have to be withdrawn from all international cricket I think

 

[JoeD]

It wouldn't be the whole team. Too hard to keep a lid on. Ban the players involved.

 

[Twizzle]

We bloody knew it last summer when they threw the match at the SCG against the Aussies. I wouldn't let them play International cricket at all.

there is no proof linking them to anything in the Aussie tour,

that can only be an opinion at this stage

 

[Tonearm Terrorwrist]

Pakistan need to sort this out... not sure how though... what a shame, one of the world's best pacemen, and the most promising... I'd suggest just dumping Pakistan pending a full enquiry of some sort... they are a basket case...

But let's also remember that Sth Africa and India have done worse, and Australia also covered up their little scandal

While people are saying life bans for Aamer and Asif, Herschelle Gibbes got much less... That's on the assumption that a couple of no-balls is all there is...

We can't all have the integrity of New Zealand and admit it immediately after a game to the channel 9 commentators.

 

[beads6]

there is no proof linking them to anything in the Aussie tour,

that can only be an opinion at this stage

I read an article this morning, *edit, you need to provide the source/link*

 

[chrisD]

Would surprise me if it's not wide spread. Results of Australian dead rubber (back when we were dominant) one dayers when there were no records on the line or any other outside motivating factors often surprised me.

 

[TheParraboy]

There is one reason why players get involved in this and one reason only = $$$

IPL rejecting Pakistan players, No home internationals, plus the fact most of the players are paid a pittance compared to other nations. No excuses for doing what they have done, but in one way understandable considering most would have poor families and no distinct income after cricket , let alone how long their career will go for due to the politics of pakistan

Getting rid of Pakistan , is sad for the cricket and sad for their nation. They obviously have the talent to compete at the highest level. Would rather the players somehow get paid better (legally) with constant reminders that their contracts will be terminated if they stray. Also I think more resources are needed to weed out these illegal bookmakers. Going undercover like in this recent sting is a good start, though with population of india and pakistan it will be hard to totally control and monitor

 

[Iafeta]

It's sad to see, simply because I was watching Mohammad Amir bowl in that match against England when he took them from 39-1 overnight to 39-4 in the first few overs, and then to about 50-5 or 6. He was bowling magnificently. I remembered looking at that no ball and thought it was a bit weird given how good his rhythm was. Watching him bowl it reminded me so much of Wasim Akram, one of my all time favourite bowlers. Unbelievable late swing at pace.

A few other things that causes me enormous concern.

- Trott and Broad's massive partnership. I know you can have match turning partnerships out of nowhere, but that was literally from the pits of hell and back.
- Pakistan's batting. To get rolled for 70 and 120 odd in those conditions is below ordinary.
- Saeed Ajmal. His run out was extraordinary. It was basically suicide tip and run. He had tried to do the same thing not long before. Did someone have a wager on a run out for him?

If these allegations are true, the team should be deregistered from international competition for 5-10 years until the message gets through that your corrupt ways are bs. It just seems everytime something fishy is going on Pakistan seem to be involved in some form.

 

[AusKnightRKO]

i can understand about the other idiots but the amir one has be stumped... best young bowler ive seen in years by a mile down the track his talent would gotten him the money in the IPL... but believe he threw his career away for what 100k tops?

 

[Tonearm Terrorwrist]

Look back to the Champions Trophy where Pakistan were cruising against Australia and Younis Khan dropped the sitter to end all sitters.

What about when Australia rolled Pakistan for 50 in each innings back in 2003?

Pakistan cruising against Australia in the opener of the 2003 World Cup and then capitulate big time.

Pakistan losing to Bangladesh in the 1999 World Cup.

There is so much stigma with Pakistan and corruption that just about anything they do will come under scrutiny and it has happened for over 20 years so this is really no shock.

 

[rupeni_00]

Look back to the Champions Trophy where Pakistan were cruising against Australia and Younis Khan dropped the sitter to end all sitters.

He had a messed up finger didn't he? And the initial claims came from from an Indian newspaper I believe. 'Nuff said.

But I know it won't be hard not to cast aspersions on any Pakistani players past efforts.

 

[Raiders_Premiers]

Meh, get rid of them, no other option really. I honestly do not know a country more corrupt than Pakistan, they have massive problems

 

[Tonearm Terrorwrist]

He had a messed up finger didn't he? And the initial claims came from from an Indian newspaper I believe. 'Nuff said.

But I know it won't be hard not to cast aspersions on any Pakistani players past efforts.

So why did he get called before a Pakistani parliamentary hearing?

Also the dropped catch was against New Zealand, my mistake, and against us they just "capitulated" when they were cruising. It was clear that something was not right since a loss meant India's elimination.

 

[Twizzle]

alot of talk in the media about the one they allegedly "threw" in Australia at the SCG, when you think of it Hauri getting 5 wickets and Huss getting his first ton in ages,

makes you wonder

 

[herbert henry1908]

Interesting article today in the herald by Geoff Lawson suggesting that players may get involved in this stuff in Pakistan out of fear of threats to their family.

I doubt it would cover all the instances but given the region nothing would suprise me.

Easy to overstep the mark when players' families' lives are at stake

Geoff Lawson

August 31, 2010

People have been quick to judge the Pakistani cricketers, but what is happening might have nothing to do with money.
If these allegations of fixing are proved, it could be related to extortion, threats, and the well-being of their own family members. It would not surprise me if illegal bookmakers have told players that if they do not perform X and Y, their families will be kidnapped or harmed.
In my time as Pakistan coach, I gained some incredible insights into the workings of the country and the team, and I'll never forget the time the team captain called me up to his room on the eve of a match.
Earlier that day, a player who we had not selected for the game approached me, saying: ''I was told I would be playing tomorrow.'' My response was, ''Well no, you're not, you've obviously been given the wrong information.''
Then the skipper of the side called me late in the evening. I went to his room and he was standing there with a very sombre-looking selector.
This selector said: ''We must pick [the player who had earlier approached me], I have been told that if he is not in the team tomorrow, my daughter will be kidnapped and I will not see her again.''
At first we both laughed, but then we realised he was being serious. Our chairman then called the president, Pervez Musharraf, who in turn phoned the people behind the threats and said they had better reconsider or else. The next we heard the matter had been resolved.
We must also remember that we are judging these guys by the standards of our own country, when their situations are vastly different.
The first time I met Mohammad Amir was when he was 16 years old, coming to an under-19s camp. He comes from a small village near the Swat valley and was delayed by three hours because the Taliban had closed the highway. That doesn't happen in this country. One thing that struck me about Amir was his constant smile, his zest for the game. That has not changed.
I will never condone any form of fixing, but we should consider that a cricketer might not be thinking of personal gain but of getting money to buy a generator for his village because they don't have electricity.
I had a lot to do with Mohammad Asif and he was always missing training sessions to look after his sick mother. He has spent a lot of his money on looking after his family.
If Salman Butt is involved in any match-fixing, I would be absolutely stunned. He is a very intelligent, polite guy and has done well since taking over the team.
I cannot remember one incident in my time as coach of Pakistan that aroused suspicion of a fix.
I had my eye on it when Asif and Shoaib Akhtar had come back from their nandrolone bans. We had a meeting about match-fixing and spot-fixing.
We were pretty consistent during my tenure. The players knew there were financial rewards for performing well.
My first reaction to this latest news was sadness. These are people I know, people I call friends. This will probably be the end of some careers.
I don't think Pakistan should be banished. We have seen them survive some incredible on- and off-field turmoil. You shouldn't throw the baby out with the bathwater.
But I will say that the present Pakistan administration cannot escape some of the blame for this. What they need right now is positive leadership and they don't have it. The Pakistan Cricket Board chairman, Ijaz Butt, is not a leader, he should not have the job.
When I was there, the board did not have people with vested interests, they were business people who treated people fairly. The first-class players were looked after and paid well and it made a difference.
It would be the greatest tragedy if a young man like Aamer has been led astray.

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket...milies-lives-are-at-stake-20100830-147f7.html

 

[Tonearm Terrorwrist]

The ex-girlfriend of Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Asif has claimed the paceman confessed to her that last summer's Australia-Pakistan Test in Sydney was fixed and told her during the series to "stop praying - we will not win a single match during the tour to Australia".

“When Pakistan started losing in Australia, I jokingly said: 'For God's sake, win a match.' To this, he replied, 'We won't win anything until 2010'” – Veena Malik Mohammad Asif's ex-girlfriend on Pakistan's tour of Australia​

Veena Malik, a comedian and former model, made the allegations on Pakistan's Express News network during a discussion of the match-fixing scandal, which has outraged the cricket-mad nation as it experiences the worst floods in a century.

Malik said Asif confessed during a phone call he made to her while in Australia that the team planned to throw the three-Test series, but she said she was unaware what Asif's involvement was in the fix.

"When Pakistan started losing in Australia, I jokingly said: 'For God's sake, win a match.' To this, he replied, 'We won't win anything until 2010'".

Malik also claimed that before the Pakistan team flew out to Australia last December, Asif made a sudden visit to Bangkok to meet bookmakers there.

"One day, he got business-class tickets and went to Bangkok," she said. "He told me that he was offered $40,000. I advised him not to be part of such activities but he did not listen. Instead, he went ahead and demanded $200,000."

She added: "Since he came back (from a doping ban), he has been totally involved in this. Once he told me that the entire Pakistan team is involved. From head to toe, the Pakistan players and officials are involved."

Malik said she had provided details of Asif's travels to the Pakistan Cricket Board as well as information relating to a ($A356,000) loan she made to him, which she claimed was in part used to pay Asif's lawyers, who were working to reduce a two-year doping ban.

Asif's failure to repay the loan caused a public row between them, although they announced a rapprochement at a press conference in May.

The match-fixing allegations, revealed in a sting conducted by Britain's News of the World newspaper, has shocked Pakistan and prompted its Prime Minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, to order an immediate inquiry.

"The latest fixing allegations have bowed our heads in shame," Mr Gilani said in the southern Punjab town of Multan, where he was helping to oversee flood emergency relief and rescue operations.

"I have ordered a thorough inquiry into these allegations so that action could be taken against those who are proven guilty."

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari - who is patron of the Pakistan Cricket Board - ordered a detailed report and demanded PCB chairman Ijaz Butt keep him informed of developments in the Scotland Yard probe, a spokesman said.

Mr Zardari is facing parliamentary pressure to dissolve the PCB and immediately remove Mr Butt after members of a federal standing committee on sport accused the board of failing to act against players suspected of involvement in shady deals.

LINK

Not surprised, a chucker and now allegedly a match fixer. Pakistan have brought great service to world cricket :roll:

Former Test umpire Darrell Hair says he is not surprised by the latest Pakistan match-fixing scandal, saying anti-corruption police sent out a global alert a decade ago over fears players were bowling deliberate no-balls

Hair has watched with interest developments in England where Pakistan fast bowlers Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif have been caught in a sting by the News Of The World after they appeared to bowl deliberate no-balls in the just-completed fourth Test at Lord's.

"It didn't shock me at all," Hair said.

"When the International Cricket Council's anti-corruption unit was formed a decade ago they went around the world and spoke to all the leading umpires and said there were concerns in tournaments in places like Sharjah that the Pakistanis were bowling (deliberate) no-balls and wides.

"They also mentioned the possibility of strange dismissals. But they have not been able to get any proof.

"Maybe the anti-corruption unit should be disbanded and they should hire the News Of The World to do their investigations."

Hair was effectively banished from the game for several years after he reported Pakistan for ball tampering at The Oval in 2006, prompting the Pakistanis to forfeit the match.

London-based businessman Mazhar Majeed, then man at the centre of the scandal, claimed the team's cheating was not confined to match-fixing and that ball-tampering had also become rife in the team.

"I used to go out on the pitch to give the players their drinks," Majeed said.

"Whenever we couldn't get a wicket I'd have a lump of Vaseline on my hand. They'd put it on one side of the ball and the ball would suddenly start swinging."

Hair said the confession has reinforced his long-standing belief that the Pakistanis had long been guilty of illegally tampering with the ball.

"I was never in any real doubt all sorts of shenanigans were going on but unfortunately at the time I couldn't get the support of the ICC," he said.

"There seemed to be a lack of a will to go down that road. I never detected any Vaseline but there were certainly scratches on the ball at The Oval.

"This has nothing to do with vindication for me. It is sadness that the matter arose and we had complete lack of support from match referee Ranjan Madugalle, who gave some half-arsed decision that the ball had not been tampered with."

Retired former ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed said there were strong grounds to have Pakistan suspended from the game.

LINK

Pakistan and ball tampering? What a surprise. They ran Darrell Hair out of world cricket over their childish "racist" witch hunt and now the man at the centre of it all who sang like a canary has implicated ball tampering. If it is ever proven Darrell Hair should sue the PCB to the point of bankruptcy.

 

[IanG]

Mind you nearly 30 years after the fact Kiwis still feel they were victims of match fixing.

 

[Cletus]

LAHORE — A Pakistan court Tuesday summoned seven national cricket players, the country's sports minister and its cricket chief to face treason charges over fixing allegations in England.
The chief justice of the High Court in the eastern city of Lahore said those under investigation in England, plus sports minister Ijaz Jakharani and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt must appear on September 7.
Local lawyer Ishtiaq Ahmed filed the treason case on Monday, calling for life bans and confiscation of all the players' assets if they are found guilty. The charge carries a maximum death penalty.
The cricketers are alleged to have been paid to bowl no-balls at pre-determined times in a spot-fixing scam in the fourth Test against England, which Pakistan lost by an innings on Sunday.
Usually in Pakistan, court procedures are long and decisions takes years while a legal expert said if the accused fail to appear three times in a row a ruling could be made in absentia.
"The case is based only on allegations. We do not expect a hurried decision," Azhar Siddique, a local lawyer said.
The seven national team players include Test team captain Salman Butt, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Aamer, plus three unnamed players, who are all accused in the sting by British Sunday tabloid the News of the World.
Police have bailed a bookmaker, Mazhar Majeed, who is alleged to be the middleman in the scam.

The death penalty is probably a bit harsh imo.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j4vuyqg0Nm0eNoaxUt2vQ6mViLSg

 

[Cletus]

LAHORE — A Pakistan court Tuesday summoned seven national cricket players, the country's sports minister and its cricket chief to face treason charges over fixing allegations in England.
The chief justice of the High Court in the eastern city of Lahore said those under investigation in England, plus sports minister Ijaz Jakharani and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt must appear on September 7.
Local lawyer Ishtiaq Ahmed filed the treason case on Monday, calling for life bans and confiscation of all the players' assets if they are found guilty. The charge carries a maximum death penalty.
The cricketers are alleged to have been paid to bowl no-balls at pre-determined times in a spot-fixing scam in the fourth Test against England, which Pakistan lost by an innings on Sunday.
Usually in Pakistan, court procedures are long and decisions takes years while a legal expert said if the accused fail to appear three times in a row a ruling could be made in absentia.
"The case is based only on allegations. We do not expect a hurried decision," Azhar Siddique, a local lawyer said.
The seven national team players include Test team captain Salman Butt, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Aamer, plus three unnamed players, who are all accused in the sting by British Sunday tabloid the News of the World.
Police have bailed a bookmaker, Mazhar Majeed, who is alleged to be the middleman in the scam.

The death penalty is probably a bit harsh imo.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j4vuyqg0Nm0eNoaxUt2vQ6mViLSg