Cricket Special Report: Will the threat of bookies loom over UAE and World Cup 2011 (Part 3)
(Continuation of part 2’s discussion about the aftermath of the controversial tour of England and the optimism shown by South African and Pakistani captains for the UAE encounter)
The South African skipper Graeme Smith believes that good, healthy and competitive cricket will be there for the taking, as both countries have shared a history with spot-fixing controversies and are well aware of the consequences. He also stated that the
recent controversies wouldn’t be a distraction for the national team and that Pakistani cricket team on its given day can be among the most competitive international cricket sides.
Smith says, “I think generally there are always one or two things going on in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 cricket, so they're pretty used to dealing with stuff like that at least from a playing perspective," he also added, "We still expect them to be very competitive
on this tour and conditions to suit them. You can't hide away from what's going on but as a unit we've dealt with this in our society over the years. We're used to adversity and for us it's just about being honest.”
The optimism shown by the South African is also shown by both Pakistani test and ODI, T20 skippers that the national teams of the two cricketing greats will provide good entertaining cricketing matches. And that the sport will be played in good faith and
no such controversial activities will occur during the course of the game.
There is no doubt that the UAE tour will be played in good faith, but the real question is how will the game of cricket commence in the upcoming 50-over 2011 edition of the World Cup would take place. Based on what the Pakistani skipper Shahid Afridi has
said that if the players actually are being informed of spot-fixing activities through their agents, than the only reason for no match-fixing activities is the extra cautious measures taken by ICC’s ASCU. When the well waited World Cup will take place, there
will be several opportunities for the fixers to dominate and enforce bribes to key players which would be extremely hard to monitor for the ASCU.
The 2011 ICC World Cup will include ten full members of the ICC, and if Afridi is right, than that means that each participating side’s playing eleven would have eleven different sports agent, and if ten teams take part in the World Cup, than 11 X 10= 110.
So, 110 playing cricketer would have 110 agents roaming around, and by the way the number of 110 does not include the extras or other cricketer in the squad and their agents, and most importantly the team management at the site.
How is the ASCU planning to protect and monitor three to two hundred cricketers and agents at the scene? Even if ASCU deploys all their officials in the tournament, they still will not be able to check and control each and every individual at the site.
Even international cricketing history advocates the mere fact that previously cricketers who were involved in fixing and scandals were normally approached by agents. Since there is a huge number of cricketers who are not part of the money making cricketing
leagues, such as the Indian Premier League (IPL) and English county, these cricketers, especially those who come from the third world or developing country or simply come from the lower middle class and poor backgrounds, will definitely be tempted to take
part in the greatest evil of the game, which is match fixing.
One can only hope that the international cricketing arena can be saved, if and only the cricketers at hand are basing their judgement on sheer regard, respect and loyalty to the sport and their countries respectively. As for the upcoming UAE tour and other
pre-world cup limited over encounters are concerned, common sense says that the fixers or bookies wouldn’t get involved because of the extra measures taken by the ICC’s ASCU. However, when one speaks of the ICC World Cup 2011, he or she should fear that the
game is played in good faith and the ICC is able to remove and finish all such unlawful activities in the global sport of cricket. Hoping for the best of international cricket and its future, one can only be and show the positivity shown by Graeme Smith and
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482.
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