Pakistan's match-fixing scandal: Mike Atherton, Ian Botham and Nasser Husain express anger
Pakistan's spot-fixing scandal has shocked everyone. The embarrassment caused by a bunch of players has let the game down in general and their country in particular. As a result, former players were shocked at the developing situation and have expressed their anger quite openly.
They have demanded an impartial inquiry on allegations of spot-fixing against Mohammad Amir, Asif, Salman Butt and Kamran Akmal. If the allegations come true, severe punishments have been suggested for all the involved players. According to them, stern action is essential to avoid such incidents in the future as players would think for a hundred times before embarking on such an embarrassing journey.
Australian, Pakistani and English captains criticized the players involved in spot fixing and expressed that the inside story may be beyond the no balls.
Michael Vaughan, the former English captain was highly apprehensive of the situation and was not optimistic even about the ODI series between England and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 in such a situation. He urged England to reconsider their decision to play against Pakistan if the accused players are selected in the squad for the Pakistani side.
According to Michael Vaughan, the credibility of English team is at stake if its players play against a side which has no loyalty, integrity and credibility. Vaughan asserted that the English team must not put its credibility at stake by playing such a corrupt side. Vaughan favored strict punishment for the players involved in this controversy so that future trends could be set in the right direction.
Similarly, Nasser Husain also supported Vaughan in removing all corrupt elements from cricket. According to Nasser, it has provided the opportunity to uproot wrong practices and their perpetrators from cricket. He considered it as the real time to transform cricket in a real positive game forever. Husain also blamed the controversy on the lack of supervision on these players.
Husain was sceptical about the projection of spot-fixing only in terms of No balls. According to Nasser, it is more than the planned No balls. He believed the incident has more to it what meets the eye. The former English captain expressed his anger over the allegations against Pakistani players and regarded them as the enemy of cricket. “With this incident, we are back to square one.” said Nasser Husain. He asserted to stem out the menace of match-fixing from the cricket.
Another former English Captain Mike Atherton blamed the sub-continental teams for being involved in bookmaking. He was of the opinion that the Indian sub-continent is basically responsible for corrupt practices in cricket. Atherton considered the shifting of cricket power to the east provided betting opportunities for sub-continental teams was reduced. With such a fragile governing structure and the corresponding opportunities to mint money by corrupt practices, it would not be possible to end corruption absolutely for sub-continental teams.
Another former Australian captain Ian Botham was sceptical about the future of cricket and said that corrupt practices and desires for more money have deprived the game of cricket of its integrity. Ian Botham urged swift action against the perpetrators of this incident.
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