According to reports, Gulam Bodi, a South African with three international appearances to his name, is the intermediary at the heart of a match-fixing investigation concerning the country’s Ram Slam T20 competition.
Bodi was charged in December by Cricket South Africa with contriving to fix, or otherwise improperly influence aspects of matches in the recently concluded competition.
Another instance of the sport being dragged through a seemingly never-ending gutter of moral decay by an individual who apparently hasn’t much knowledge of the seven deadly sins.
As a perfectly timed counterpoint to this revelation is the news that both Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif are back playing domestic cricket in Pakistan. This comes a few weeks after Mohammad Amir made such a successful comeback that he has now returned to the national side for their tour of New Zealand.
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I’ve argued the case on here before, back in May 2014, for cricket to become far more severe in its dealing with those intent on putting personal, ill-gotten gain at the top of their agenda and nothing in the intervening 21 months has made me want to change my mind.
Cricket SA have stated they will take a hard stance against such activity, and quite rightly so, yet the picture being painted by the collective authorities is far from a clear one.
If Bodi is found guilty then he could face a custodial sentence and given the fact Hansie Cronje was hit with a lifetime ban from the sport, it would be safe to assume a similar punishment being handed out in this instance.
But it feels off kilter that the Pakistani trio are back playing the game they didn’t mind tarnishing not so long ago.
Authorities will always talk of taking a hard line but time and again there are those willing to put two fingers up at the hierarchy. With betting a far more sophisticated animal than in years gone by – even in the past decade the landscape has changed dramatically – there is much more scope for dishonesty.
The emergence of short-form tournaments around the globe, not that the length of game is actually that relevant, has multiplied to the nth degree the extent to which cricket traders can get their talons into the sport.
There isn’t a form of the game which is bulletproof and if it’s televised then somebody, somewhere will be offering odds.
And when there are external elements willing to squeeze out whatever they, there will be gullible internal elements such as Bodi, who will be happy to take the plunge.
Unfortunately, that will never go away but what can be done is to strengthen the deterrent?
As more details emerge about the shenanigans in South Africa, there will be plenty of moralising taking place and thoughts about what should be done.
Some will want those found guilty, should that be the case, to never be allowed to have anything to do with the game again. Others will talk of rehabilitation and the opportunity to turn a mucky episode into something useful via education and so forth.
With regard to the latter that’s all well and good but, surely, a clean game is the ideal, no?
The punishments dished out down the years have failed to stop the same thing from occurring again and again so it is time to take a different tack.
Bodi, unwittingly no doubt but given the stupidity of some I wouldn’t be so sure, maybe about to provide those supposedly in charge of cricket with a gilt-edged chance to lay down a marker.
It would be diluted to some extent given that the World T20 next month could well feature a convicted fixer who has benefitted from an unduly lenient sentence, but you have to start somewhere.
I – and I hope the majority also – want to watch the Big Bash League, the IPL, a Test match or a one-day international, and take it for granted that nothing untoward is taking place.
That could well be too idealistic and there’s enough cynicism in my four decades’ worth of experience to know better but I live in hope.
The sport, or any sport, doesn’t need this sort of nonsense and it should be one strike and you’re out for good.
Get rid of them and don’t offer a route back.
Chris Love
Guest
No way, you match fix you are gone for life. Cooperate with authorities and give up the sources behind all this and your deal is you don't go to gaol. The three Paki's that are now back playing cricket again should all be laying bricks or similar for a living.
Johnny Dalmas
Guest
No, it doesn't ... so long as the perception doesn't grow. Then it might start to matter to sponsors. We are a long, long way from that point though.
Bakkies
Guest
Amir did as well.
Kaks
Roar Guru
Agree with you Don, Does it matter what people who dont care about the sport think? No, not one bit.
Don Freo
Guest
The opinion of casual observers or people who never really follow the game doesn't really matter, does it? It's a bit like my opinion of the rugby codes. I don't follow either union or league. To me, it's just fat people running 2 metres then falling over, resting on the ground for a minute, running 2 metres and falling over again. I might be missing some finer points of the game but, because I don't follow it, my simplistic characterization doesn't impact on the game or those that do follow it...and is insignificant to fans.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
The Pakistan trio got 5 year bans. That's pretty significant. I don't know that it should be a fixed "lifetime bans allround" sort of thing. A senior player who not only does match fixing but uses his influence to drag in some impressionable youngsters along with him probably should get a life ban (though, in many cases, a 5-year band for an older player could effectively mean the same thing), but someone like Amir, who was 17 at the time, I have no problem with coming back. He clearly got influenced by the wrong people, and after serving his punishment should get a second chance.
Johnny Dalmas
Guest
Moose I don't think the game was fixed and I also think your analysis of india's weakness in the field is right. But that isn't the point. the problem is for many casual observers cricket is now a tainted sport. When a result looks unusual to them, the is one obvious reason: match fixing. I get this all the time from family members who don't really follow the game. A clanger umpiring decision? Corrupt umpires. An amazing turn around that snatches victory from the jaws of defeat? A fixed game. Casual observers never used to think like this about cricket: once it was simply "boring". Now it is "corrupt and boring". And cricket administrators only have themselves to blame.
Jameswm
Guest
Fully agree a young kid who made a mistake deserves another chance.
Don Freo
Guest
That doesn't make a lot of sense, Ricc. Want to have another go at what you were trying to say?
Riccardo
Guest
Misguided good blokes if from Australia, having made an error that their salty goodness prescribes is really more something to be joked about round the barbie, provided you're not wolfing down dietary supplements from Mum's medicine cabinet.
Riccardo
Guest
Good post Steele. Where the author's (quite legitimate) remit falls down is those few like Amir who may be victims of senior players' influence in an unusual environment. He has paid a hefty price too. 6 years ago his potential was explosive and I am looking forward to seeing him and Shah in the series her in NZ. But Alec's stance is designed to discourage all and sundry from pursuing financial gain in this manner and the fact is that we may have barely scratched the surface with the recent publicity match and spot fixing has garnered. A balance may need to be struck but with the provision for life-time bans and jail time for all but the most extreme cases. It hurts me to say this as a Kiwi but I wish they had got Cairns. We all suspect his guilt and that would have been a victory for the sport and those decent enough to come forward, who are unlikely to repeat that selflessness.
Stucco
Guest
I agree with you Moose but perhaps the telling part of IanK's comment is the "fair-weather cricket fan." There was a time not long when anytime NZ won a game people I worked with said that "well, that must have been fixed." The perception is out there and until cricket can get it's house in order when it comes to match-fixing it will remain.
Don Freo
Guest
A few posters from yesterday's breaking news might have to apologize to Hershelle Gibbs.
spruce moose
Guest
You'd need to provide a lot of evidence to suggest that the game was fixed when a guy scores an unbeaten 171, and someone else gets a run a ball 91. India always gives runs away when they bowl, and it's simply magnified against the Australians because a) India are just consistently poor in the field (at least by comparison to the southern hemisphere teams whom are consistently excellent). Slow and rarely prepared to dive at the boundary. b) Australia run between the wickets harder than any other country, and they always have. I think your mate needs to understand the game a bit more.
Brian
Guest
Oh please if Aamer was an EFC footballer the media would be outraged if he got 12 months. He actually got 5 years and Butt got jail time. Do you object to Mark Waugh and Shane Warne's involvement in the game or as always is it throw the book at them if they are from overseas and misguided good blokes if they are Australian.
Bakkies
Guest
Butt and Asif spent time in the can.
Steele
Guest
I think it's more complicated than that. I believe Amir in particular deserves another chance. He was very young and pressured into it by his senior players. He also was quicker to admit guilt. It's about education, many of these guys come from extreme poverty. Can you relate to this? I'm willing to give him another chance. His rehabilitation could set a great example for the game going forward.
IanK
Guest
My neighbour and fair-weather cricket fan was quite nonchalant in saying he thought that the one-dayer in Perth the other night was fixed. I said whoa, what makes you think that? He said that it was apparent that India weren't supposed to get much more than 300 and then in the field they were supposed to make Australia's run chase as comfortable as possible...they scored 20-30 runs to few and gave away 20-30 easy/comfortable runs too many when Australia were batting. I'm not saying it was dodgy, but my point is the sport is now so tainted that anything a bit fishy now comes into question.
Redsback
Guest
The Pakistanis have been out of the game for years (I'm not sure exactly how many). With the explosion of 20/20 cricket in that time, it is fair to say that they have suffered a massive financial loss as a result of their stupidity. Correct me if I am wrong, but wasn't Butt even jailed for it? I think they have probably paid for it heavily enough and it's time to move on. Punish them for sure, but a life ban - particularly for someone as young as Amir was at the time - is a bit OTT. If you were to take the life-ban approach, then surely it would need to be applied to those who cheat to win (drug cheats) and not just those who cheat to lose (match fixers).