Pakistan should be banned from international cricket

Since I last posted it seems cricket has plunged to new depths, if that’s possible. Previously I had tried to see reasons as to why Pakistani players would stoop so low as to deliberately bowl no balls and “spot fix” during matches. I raised a strong case for their defence while also pointing out that regardless of those reasons, it was still wholly unacceptable.

The latest set of allegations and counter allegations have left me feeling like I shouldn’t have bothered trying to see why Pakistan’s players did what they did. While I can see that the Pakistan players and the PCB are frustrated at being constantly bombarded with allegations (the latest without any firm proof), what is unacceptable is the counter-allegations raised by PCB Chairman, Ijaz Butt on Sunday.

I’ve heard cases for his defence over the past day or so. “The man is under incredible sporting and political pressure”...”the Pakistan government is pressing him for answers and resolutions” etc. That may be the case, but to point the finger of blame at the England cricket team and alleging that they deliberately lost the third one day international is nothing short of disgusting.

Pakistan’s inability to host international cricket matches in their own country has lead them to ask the ECB if they could host their home games in this country. The ECB accepted that proposal and have been nothing but hospitable in doing so. The ring leader in those negotiations was Ijaz Butt…and this is how he thanks the ECB and this country? It’s outrageous.

Furthermore, the fact he seems to think that going on Pakistani and Indian TV channels means that only people in those countries will hear his comments beggars belief. He’s now trying to deny that he made those comments, which speaks volumes of the man.

Worryingly, if Pakistan cricket is to clean up it’s act then the man that needs to be at the heart of it would be the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board itself! It seems that man is as corrupt, blinkered and downright ignorant as everyone else who has so far been involved in this mess.

The ICC so far hasn’t helped the situation. Their statement over the weekend was very poor in that it didn’t specify who was under investigation from the 3^rd ODI at the Oval and what evidence there was to support the claims by The Sun newspaper. I find it hard to believe that the ICC would make such a statement in the middle of a one-day series. They should simply have gone back to The Sun and asked for evidence to support their allegations.

Instead, they’ve made matters worse and I feel this is what prompted the counter-allegations by Ijaz Butt. His comments may well have been borne out of frustration, but to aim that at English cricket, which has been so hospitable to his country and his team, is something the ECB should not accept.

So where do we go from here?

My view now is get this current ODI series out of the way and then take some serious action. The first thing to do is to put a ban on Pakistan playing ANY international cricket for the foreseeable future. That may be unfair on those that aren’t involved but until we know exactly who is involved what alternative is there?

The second thing to do is to oust Ijaz Butt (who couldn’t Chair a parish council, let along an international cricket team) and put an independent Chairman in place at the PCB.

Next, a ban on agents for professional cricketers. This is something I feel very strongly about. Cricketers are vulnerable to outside interference from anyone, as has been seen many times before. Allowing them to pick their own agent leaves them open to choosing someone corrupt who doesn’t have their best interests at heart. Instead, why not allow the Professional Cricketers Association act on their behalf? It’s something footballer James Milner does (with the Professional Footballers Association acting as his agent) and it’s something that can only be admired.

Finally (and this is a very tough one to implement) I’d put a blanket ban on bookmakers and spot betting in cricket. I just don’t see how it can continue to be allowed. With the low sums of money available to cricketers around the World they’ll always be open to bribery and threats against themselves and their families.

Furthermore, I’m aware that most of cricket’s spot betting is done via illegal Indian bookmakers (gambling in countries such as India and Pakistan is illegal full stop) but surely these illegal bookmakers can be hunted down, made an example of and thus preventing anyone else from taking up this poor excuse of a career in future?

Those are my views anyway. They’re views I feel really strongly about. Cricket is a sport I love dearly. I always have, I always will. It simply can’t continue to have it’s name dragged through the mud like this any longer because of selfish outside influences.

I simply can’t wait for this current ODI series to end and to wave good riddance to the Pakistan team when they leave the country later this week. And I for one am looking forward to this winter and the Ashes series down under. A series which you can guarantee will be played will total honesty, integrity, passion and a desire to beat the opposition fairly and squarely. It’s how cricket should be played.

Pakistan cricket in crisis…the reasons why

Allegations of corruption within the ranks of the Pakistan cricket team have plunged the game of cricket into its darkest days over the past couple of weeks. These allegations appear to have plenty evidence to back them up too. Pakistan cricket has been here before with allegations of match fixing, ball tampering and corruption a regular occurrence over the past couple of decades.

A period of change followed and Pakistan cricket has worked hard to clean up its act in recent years. Issues away from cricket now dominate the headlines as Pakistan has been banned from hosting international cricket events for the foreseeable future due to security issues in their country.

The England and Wales Cricket Board offered them hope by allowing them to play their ‘home’ matches in England. With the allegations that have been brought to light by the News of the World recently, my guess is that Giles Clarke and his cronies at the ECB wish they hadn’t bothered.

So why has Pakistan cricket slumped to new depths? While it’s important not to make excuses for the acts of the Pakistan players involved, a closer look makes it easy to see why they did what they did.

Wages: A recent study of international cricketers revealed that Pakistan’s international regulars were among the poorest paid players in World cricket. At around £20,000 per year, these cricketers are never going to become wealthy fast. This figure is around ¼ of what the English equivalent earns in a year.

This for me needs addressing by the PCB and the ICC. While living costs are much less in Pakistan, there still ought to be a more level playing field and more sponsorship money filtered down to the players. It’s only a year ago since West Indian cricketers went on strike over how little sponsorship money was being passed on to them.

Indian Premier League: Since the invention of Twenty20 cricket, Pakistan has been one of the front-runners in the game. They won the World Twenty20 at Lord’s in 2009 and have some of the most explosive batsmen in World cricket.

For two years running Pakistani players haven’t been allowed to compete in the IPL, the reasons for which are unclear and open for debate. Put yourself in the shoes of a Pakistan cricketer. In what is a relatively short career he wants to represent his country while earning money to set him up for the rest of his life. He can see players from all over the World earning tens of thousands of pounds playing in the IPL, he’s one of the best Twenty20 players in the World…but he has to watch from home on his meagre £20,000 salary. Unfair? Definitely.

The reasons stated above may seem like excuses, but for me they are facts. Again I’ll say that what these cricketers have taken part in is totally unacceptable and they should take whatever punishment comes their way. However, I can’t help but feel that had they not been treated so badly over the above issues then cricket might not be in this mess right now.

Would Salman Butt have really taken any notice of an offer of £10,000 for spot fixing if he was paid the same as England players, or if he was fresh from a lucrative spell in the Indian Premier League? No, because £10,000 would seem like small change.

That said, it’s been far too easy for spot fixing to take place. The person behind it all is the player’s agent. Surely the PCB and the ICC should be vetting who exactly is allowed to represent players?

One of the few players not implicated is Shahid Afridi. He’s not represented by the agent in question and he has no reason to get involved in spot fixing. Why? Because he has played in the IPL in the past and he has lucrative sponsorship deals to make him a wealthy man for the rest of his life. He was given the nickname ‘Boom boom Afridi’ for his big-hitting style of batting. Pakistan’s kit is now sponsored by a company adopting that name, making Afridi one of the wealthiest sportsmen his country has ever seen.

With Afridi an inspiration to the players in and around the Pakistan team, they aspire to be the next ‘Boom Boom Afridi’ and will seemingly do whatever it takes to match what he, and so many others are earning on the international stage.