Spot Fixing Scandal - A Year On

It’s been exactly a year since the NOTW publications regarding the spot fixing scandal were revealed. It was this weekend last year. A gloomy day at Lords in more ways than one as Michael Atherton mentioned on commentary on the final day of the test series when the players made their way out to the middle on the back of high suspiciousness.

Pakistan didn’t even bother going out to train that morning, the situation got so bad. An unforgettable history which damaged the game and country’s integrity. An all time low for the cricket mad nation.

Since that date the former captain has been providing punditry on television which undoubtedly was shameful and sickening enough considering here was a guy who sold out his country’s name and is able to attract attention and air his views publicly, despite the hot water he was standing in and the damage he has done.

Since then Mohammad Amir has appeared for Addington CC in the Surrey league and faced the chance of having his suspension extended as this was against the boundaries of his ban, however recently he has escaped further punishment, despite the breach. Nonetheless he has been warned severely.

Since that date the trio obviously have never appeared for their country again, received minimum 5 year bans all around which was the outcome of the hearing in Doha in February, been banned from playing domestic and club cricket associated with respective country boards and face an ongoing criminal trial in court which they have been busy preparing for. Could Pakistan cricket get any lower?

However, in perspective there is of course the argument that this was a minor victory for the game in the sense that awareness was raised, realisation began to kick in & serious measures could be adopted to prevent these things from occurring in the future. It was a wakeup call for governing bodies, fellow players, fans in denial and authorities. Hopefully things can only get better from here on in and the the lowest times have past for this beloved game we all so passionately follow.

Pakistan's Next 'Mohammad Aamir'......

The bans which were imposed on the trio at approximately 3pm GMT on Saturday 5th February 2011 were realistic, reasonable & totally fair as far as I and many are concerned. We should acknowledge and appreciate the ICCs attempt to set the example straight and eradicate corruption from the game, regardless of personal abilities, past heroics and previous tendencies. The integrity and credibility of cricket is arguably a dying art and something which needs to be restored with immediate effect in order to prevent such disgraceful incidents from being witnessed on the cricketing field time and time again. If that means we have to use Pakistan, provide no exemption for age and prevent giving them second chances, so be it. If we don't take action NOW we will NEVER and cricket can continue to be expected to be dominated with controversies and acts of shamefulness. The trio have been found guilty of bowling pre-arranged no balls during the 4th Test Match at Lords this summer. They have purposefully sold out the name, image, pride and dignity of the country in return for money. Such individuals do not deserve to represent a nation at any capacity. Mohammad Aamir's career could and perhaps should be used as an example setter for the strictness to follow. There is no room for any degree of fixing in some professional society.

Although this is a less significant point I am about to make, but for of the emotional ones this could provide some relief. Pakistan is blessed with endless talent and continues to lead the way and thrive in producing gems from the youth and domestic circuit, especially in the fast bowling club which is second to none and thankfully has been for several generations and doesn't look like dying out anytime soon! Therefore, rest assured there are capable world beaters waiting in the wings, developing and performing who have the capabilities of being as effective, sensational and brilliant as Aamir was without being tainted and shameful. Pakistan can literally afford to lose Aamir and co for the non cricketing reasons and there are various replacements who can do equally as well or if not better when it comes to the cricketing stuff. Here below I have a look at some young mouth watering fast bowling prospects which are worth keeping a close eye on and could break into the national side very soon and do exceptionally well as long as the selectors are creative and brave like they once were with Aamir! Remember this line :" Pakistan will find their next 'Mohammad Aamir' within the next 12 months." Watch this space and never underestimate the greatness of our long lived fast bowling legacy. We do not need cheats and traitors in OUR team. Anyhow, without further ado let's get on to having a look at them:

1) Junaid Khan: A highly rated left arm fast bowler and the guy which looks like being the obvious successor. He has claimed 167 wickets in 35 First class appearances. He can move the ball both ways with control at sharp pace and swing the ball enough to get the in roads. Generally has a smooth run up and orthodox point of release. At 21 years of age he has a good head on his shoulders and is pushing through the ranks very nicely indeed.

2) Mohammad Talha: In the recently concluded Faysal Bank One Day National Cup Division One, 2010/11was the joint leading wicket taker with 21 scalps at an average of just 14 for his domestic team NBP. He has made his Test debut before in 2009, but unfortunately had it coming on a flat bed. Nevertheless, this Tall skinny skiddy seamer is progressing nicely and it will be hard for the selectors to ignore him for much longer.

3) Anwar Ali: The wonder kid which bamboozled the Indian U19 line up in the intriguing low scoring U19 WC final in 2006 from Colombo to give Pakistan their 2nd consecutive U19 triumph. He has been well spoken off amongst the closest of Pakistani cricket fanatics. He has apparently developed on the "outswinger" to go with his prodigious inswingers and also worked on his batting and voiced aspirations of becoming a genuine all rounder too.

4) Sadaf Hussain: A Tall Left arm fast bowler from Rawalpindi who was the leading wicket taker in the 2010/11 Quaid E Azam Trophy Season. He has notched up 85 scalps in just 15 FC matches which is astonishingly good and suggests he has something "special" about him.

5) Asad Ali: A young tall seamer from Faisalabad. He played league cricket in 2010 for a club in the Staffordshire league called Moddershall CC which has previously signed the likes of star internationals, Imran Tahir & Rangana Hearth to name a few. During his stint with the club he made an immediate impression totalling with 37 wickets from just 12 matches including 4 5fors. His First Class stats make excellent reading with 246 scalps from 54 games at an average of approximately 22. I recall viewing some footage of his bowling where he successfully managed to move the ball appreciably.

The Future Is Safe

The tainted trio

Sunday afternoons for me are a snooze feast, I spend most of them dozing away in front of the idiot box except for when Asia United have a match to play.  Though the Sunday in question here is the 29^th August 2010, and since Bangkok Cricket League season 2011 was still a couple months away, I was busy with my favorite pass time visiting dream factory on my bed.

It was also the 3^rd day of the now infamous Lord’s Test between England and Pakistan. England had pilled up runs, 444 of them and with Pakistan bundled out for 74 in the first innings, and an innings defeat was imminent.  Watching cricket on Tele therefore was out of the question so once again brings me back to my dreamy afternoon snooze. I must have been just about to blast a short ball for a six to get to my first even half century for Asia United when an SMS sent my IPhone 4’s Ferrari engine ringtone roaring.

The SMS was from my dear friend Ahsan Awan. With Ahsan being a bigger Cricket Fanatic than me, I tend to rely on news and updates on PCT from him, as he is very resourceful when It comes to anything cricket.  I remember his SMS vaguely as I had just woken up and after reading the news of no balls, I for once thought I was still dreaming and ill soon be up in to see a revival in batting fortunes by PCT batsman. I kept reading and though I have never been a big fan of Salman Butt, I was in a state of shock over the involvement of the young speedster and like I said was waiting for someone to pinch me out of this nightmare.

I tried to make some sense of what I was reading about the players, the agent and the ultimate betrayal as it was being termed. I tried so hard to doubt the video (maybe it was doctored, maybe the Mazhar Majeed was or is party to a setup). Questions kept arising to all those questions; I could find none to answer them for me. Why and how did this happen? Where is PCB in all this? Why was the manager so clueless about everything that had been brewing under his nose? How can an 18 year old favor Money over a career, which had been promising to be extraordinary? Asif again? Two Tests into a captaincy and promises of future being safe, could Salman Butt pull something off like that, he looks so harmless? 

No matter how much of an eternal optimist you might be, your mind can never really deny the comprehension of your eyes. The proof was clearly there, it was in your face. They had been caught red handed. The sting operation was so comprehensively executed that the players and their agent had no clue as to what sort of shrewd but necessary entrapment they were falling into.

Some have said that the players were framed into delivering the spot balls, but then can someone please explain to me as to why were they even party to such an arrangement knowing fully how this could affect their careers?  And I am not even going to talk about the country as the representation for which was long forgotten by these players in question.

For me what frustrated me to the point where I stopped giving them any benefit of the doubt was the look on Salman Butt’s face at the press conference, which was held after the conclusion of the lord’s test match. Why did he not have any answer to the media scrutiny? Why was he so damn confused? Did he see the walls closing in on him? Guilt is not a word I would use for him, as we have seen over the course of this emotional rollercoaster for all PCT fans that he has not once come out and said anything in his defense, or to assure his countrymen of his innocence.

Over the course of six months or so since the NOTW blew the case wide open on what had been happening for sometime, these three have not only lost so much credibility but also the trust of each other and their countrymen. The ultimate betrayal surely it was. For a country raged with War on Terror, little insecurity from its government, cricket was seen as the shining beacon of hope and a game that albeit for a few hours made us one, freed us of our troubles.

For those few hours we were all praying, enjoying, sitting on the edges of our seats, rejoicing in victories and disappointed in losses. At least during those simpler times we could just get back to our lives knowing out team did their best, or it wasn’t their day. But now every loss in the aftermath of this spot-fixing saga is being labeled as dubious. It’s a stigma that might stay with the fans of PCT for quiet sometime.

Many of us kept ourselves from judging these players as guilty unless proven, and now that they are all proven to be anything but innocent, we can all just now move on and rejoice the fact that this did happen. Because, if the leadership which promised us a secure future, stabbed us in the back and took away one of our most promising prospect in the span of weeks, just imagine how bright the future would have been a few years later.  A team controlled by money would have been a bigger disgrace to Pakistan than just 3 corrupt players. 

The career of Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif are all but over, and as for Amir it is very bleak. It is their loss after all, Pakistan has never been short of talent, and already there is no sense of void owing to their absence from the team. Ahmed Shahzad might not have gotten a chance to play had we been relying to Salman Butt right now, Wahab Riaz is no Mohammad Asif and Razzaq is not Aamir either but the team has delivered us series victories in New Zealand recently but ironically I shall conclude with the words of wisdom from the biggest idiot we have had leading our team, the future of Pakistan Cricket Team without the three players is bright. The Future is safe.

Written by Nadeem Shehzad

Salman Butt - A Machiavellian Character

Apparently douchebag supreme Salman’s Butt has not been properly satisfied with the amount of gaalam galoch he has received due to his involvement in the spot fixing scandal. There are many reasons I can think why the loudmouth and slimy former Pakistan captain very conveniently gave an interview labeling Shahid Afridi as a clueless captain.

The Future is Safe Man

Here is what he had to say to a News One reporter about Afridi and Pakistan’s prospects in the upcoming WC.

“Aik banda jo khud clueless ho woh agar aap ko kuch kahay bhi tw us ka khaak asar hona hai"

Somebody should ask this conniving, scheming SOB whether he had any clue where his off-stump was during the majority of his career?

Or…

Why was he so clueless during the post-match press conference of the Lord’s test where he had guilty written all over his face and had to consult with the blind and deaf Pakistan manager Yawar Saeed before answering each question?

Or…

Why is he still so clueless when answering the question of where the money found in his hotel room came from? First it was his sister’s dowry and now it was for the ice cream parlor.

Butt has absolutely no moral & ethical authority whatsoever of questioning anyone let alone Lala, when his own dealings and character are so dubious. The amount of verbal diarrhea he has spewed after he was caught fixing tells us of a man who is awfully manipulative, is of a dubious character, is envious and is no less than a Machiavellian character.

UPDATED:

My dear friend/club captain Nadeem Shahzad who is a big Afridi fan took offence and started a Insult Salman Butt Week Campaign, let's see what he has to say.

Fact 1: Salman Butt's Favorite Indian Movies are Badmaash Company, Jannat and Rajneeti : None of which he has seen beyond intervals coz otherwise he would have known that you reap what you sow.

Fact 2: Contrary to the Rumors, Salman Butt is not the love child of Salman Taseer and Ijaz Butt. Oh and a bookie by the name of Mazhar Majeed confirms he can get Salman Butt to accept the fact he just might be.

Fact 3: According to Salman, his Butt Can speak better English Than Afridi, and so often he is seen talking to his butt while the bowler runs in. I guess Butting into Business is not Salman's fault, he has no control over his Butt.

Fact 4. Salman Butt was Out First Ball on His Debut, Whereas Afridi cracked the fastest ton on his. Thats coz Lala spent the evening before the match hitting Wasim and Waqar out of the park in a Net Session !!! and Butt must have spent his learning how to marinate a Duck on Hell's Kitchen.

Kamran Akmal - A cringeworthy character

My general dislike for the man knows no bounds. This "hatred" if you will, comes from something that I for the life of me cannot explain. Missed catches, stumpings, match fixing, oath-taking are just a few things I associate with him.

The amount of catches he has dropped (34 at last count) in the last few years make him one of the worst wicket-keepers to have played in this era. No WK has ever been retained after such miserable showings but the man with "The Teeth" has made numerous comebacks just like a Pakistani salesman who refuses to go away after being shunned numerous times.

AFP PHOTO/ADRIAN DENNIS