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The buck stops with the captain. Nothing can be fixed without the captain’s knowledge. That he may have turned a blind eye is another matter. Cronje, Azharuddin and Malik were all captains. All banned for life. Two of them have reinvented themselves. One is a Member of Parliament. One is dead.
In 2008, Marlon Samuels was banned for two years for sharing information with a bookie. How many others were there? Tim Nielsen has confirmed approaches were made to Australian players. Sri Lankan players have been approached, too.
Imran Khan has been scathing in his assessment. He has long been a trenchant critic of the last Pakistan president Musharraf and continues to rail against the current regime.
Ian Chappell said in a recent interview: ”Okay, it might be an example of spot-fixing, and you might think that it is not as serious bowling a no-ball, but it is serious because it means that they have got their claws in the player, and they are going to tell him when to do the next fix and they are going to tell him what to do. And the player doesn’t have any say unless he likes living in a wooden box, for that is the only way he is going to get out. So that’s how serious this problem is.”
This is the issue. Once a fixer has compromised a player, that player is forever at the fixer’s beck and call. To say no is to meet your creator. Match or spot-fixing cannot happen without the knowledge of the captain.
He pulls the strings and ultimately is the man responsible.
The fixers know better than to approach the Australian, Indian or English players. These three teams are the best paid and earn more than any other players. In a way, these three teams are incorruptible.
In Strauss, Ponting and Dhoni they have strong leaders and players like Tendulkar, Dravid, Pietersen, Clarke, Sehwag and Hussey would not countenance any approaches. South Africa post-Cronje and the Sri Lankans under Jayewardene and Sangakkara would get my seal of approval also.
New Zealand, with its recent improved players’ agreement, is also on the same page as the other five above.
This leaves Pakistan, the West Indies, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe in the potentially susceptible team category. And it all has to do with inadequate player payments. There is also a large disparity in earnings of players within the same team.
This leads to a fractious dressing room and what is called “in-law envy.”
The real answer lies in policing and eradicating the criminals. This is hard when criminals have political patronage. And India is also open to censure. At last count, there were over 50 Members of Parliament with criminal charges pending against them. This is not suggesting that the administrators of cricket in India are corrupt.
It is suggesting that criminals have friends in high places.
Zimbabwe is run by men of dubious integrity and that is putting it mildly. Bangladesh is better than Pakistan but that is not a ringing endorsement. The West Indies is bedeviled with Inter island jealousies and lacks strong leadership both on and off the field.
In short, it is ripe for fixers.
So where do we go from this low point.
For cricket to retain credibility, it has to be clean in all three forms. Draconian measures are called for. It is time privacy came second and virtue came first.
India has to take the lead. It has the power because of the market. It remains to be seen if the clean-up post-Modi is real or just window dressing. Players like Kumble, Tendulkar, Dravid and Dhoni are sick of the innuendo and must be privately seething at the shenanigans of some of the administrators and franchise owners.
The Champions League and the IPL is where the stars are treated like Royalty. It is where every cricketer wants to be. Hayden, Gilchrist, Warne, Kallis, Bollinger, Hussey and Pietersen. It is not only the money. It is the craving for attention.
Those turning up their noses do so because they have not got past the auction.
Bangalore with Steyn and Victoria with Nannes have two of the best fastmen going around. Both these teams have strong batting. Kallis and Dravid complemented by Cameron White and Ross Taylor give Bangalore the edge.
Bollinger will be trying to pull the rug out from under the batters when he opens up for Dhoni’s team. Shaun Tait will fire for South Australia but the rest of the team looks weak. Ferguson coming back will be tentative. Malinga.Tendulkar and Pollard will keep Mumbai competitive.
All these players will assemble in South Africa this week and the eyes of the world will be watching for anything that looks suspicious. It would be a brave man that tries to fix a game.
Once again, there will be no Pakistani players. In light of what has happened, perhaps this is for the best.
The upcoming Champions League and IPL 4 will all be under the purview of the Anti Corruption Unit. For all its inadequacies in enforcement, it is at least a watchdog. Maybe not a killer watchdog, but a scarecrow nonetheless.
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