http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 Cricket: The shambles that is the PCB and its behaviour during the spot-fixing scandal
It is not good enough to just say “the players are innocent until proven guilty” - the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) should know better than that. This has been the stance of the PCB since the spot-fixing allegations about three Pakistani cricketers; Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif and the test captain Salman Butt. The PCB was also criticized harshly by the former president of the International Cricket Council (ICC), http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ehsan-Mani-c55791, on the same grounds.
He was quoted in Dawn as saying, “What has been disappointing is that the PCB has not taken the lead in this case since the whole issue broke.” He added, “Since it happened, the players would not have been in a fit state of mind to play a cricket match. The PCB has lost the moral ground on this one.” He also criticized the involvement of the Pakistan High Commission in the entire matter as they have nothing to do with the affairs of cricket.
What does not make sense to most Pakistani cricket lovers is the rather defensive approach taken by the PCB. If the players are innocent for sure, then why don’t they come out in the open, with the support of PCB, and assertively state that they are innocent and they will drag this Mazhar Mehmood character along with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mazhar-c75448 Majeed to the courts in order to prove their innocence?
The awkward silence taken by the PCB and the alleged cricket players has made the case of the ICC much stronger. The only vocal body in this menacing scandal is the Pakistan High Commission Wajid Shamsul Hassan, the Pakistan High Commissioner, who has claimed that the players are innocent and that this whole spot-fixing allegation is a set-up against them.
The only drawback, however, is that the Pakistan High Commission has nothing to do with cricket, and their assertions have little weight on the ICC, which has astutely brushed aside the tall claims of the commission by suspending the alleged players provisionally.
Not even a single statement has been issued by the PCB chief Ejaz Butt since the whole incident and he was heard saying “this is part of the game”, when he was welcomed at the Lahore airport with shoes and slogans of fury. He has also played the disappearing act where he was not seen anywhere in the media.
What can one possibly conclude from such mysterious acts of the chief? Could it be mere indifference or possible guilt pertaining to the issue? It could also be a simple evasion from the issue at hand; after all he is under-fire and is the most hated man in Pakistan at this point in time.
The alleged players themselves have alas broken this rather prolonged silence by beginning the process of clearing their names. They have filed their replies to the respective ICC authorities on September 14th.
“The three players – Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir met PCB chairman Ejaz Butt on Tuesday and have sent replies to the notices of charges served to them by the ICC through our British lawyer Elizabeth Robertson,” PCB legal advisor Tafazzul Rizvi told AFP.
The role of the PCB during these spot-fixing allegations is not the only point of concern; the lack of mentoring and education that needs to be given to the players regarding corruption, cricket ethics and match-fixing is also a substantial issue.
Most of the cricketers in the Pakistan cricket team come from impoverished backgrounds where their families are merely trying to make ends meet. When these players become a part of the cricket team, they have the ultimate goal of making it big in the least possible time, given the erratic team selection. Therefore, easy, quick money seems to be the only viable option for most of them.
This is not to suggest that most of the players are involved in match-fixing or spot-fixing for sheer greed. It could also be, for instance, that they might want to get a generator for their family as Geoff Lawson suggested.
Mohammad Amir belongs to a small village near Swat and he used to come punctually to the under 19 camps, he was late one day by three hours as the route he took was blocked by the Taliban.
This just goes to show the sort of backgrounds some of these players come from. Therefore the PCB should thoroughly train, warn and educate the cricketers about the menacing indulgence of match-fixing, which will not only put their careers on line but will also taint their name in the world of cricket for years to come; the latter being a much harsher punishment.
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