Anti-Corruption Unit of ICC needs to keep an eye on England players too

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced to have launched an investigation into activities that took place during the third One-Day International between England and Pakistan at The Oval, London, on September 17.

Following the information received by the ICC from a British newspaper and its source, the ICC did act as it believed that a full investigation was warranted.

“A source informed The Sun newspaper that a certain scoring pattern would emerge during certain stages of the match and, broadly speaking, that information appeared to be correct,” ICC Chief Executive, Haroon Lorgat, remarked in his statement.

“We therefore feel it is incumbent upon us to launch a full enquiry into this particular game although it is worth pointing out at this stage that we are not stating as fact that anything untoward has occurred. Only in the fullness of the investigation can that be established,” he stated.

“We thank The Sun newspaper for its information and cooperation in this regard and we will work with its staff and sources to ensure the full truth surrounding this match is ascertained,” the ICC chief acknowledged.

“The ICC maintains a zero-tolerance approach to corruption in cricket and, as a matter of course, follows up on all credible information that is received, whatever the source. Any player or official found guilty of an offence will face the full rigour of our robust Anti-Corruption Code so that we can ensure the integrity of the sport is maintained,” he added.

The statement issued by Haroon Logart very clearly suggested that the ICC was alive to the situation and the media reports concerning the sensitive issue were being followed closely.

But I wonder if the Anti-Corruption Unit of ICC is performing its duties to the satisfaction of large number of the cricket enthusiasts spread over the various continents of the world.

It has become increasingly important for the ACU to adopt a proactive approach in order to prevent further damage to what was one understood to be the gentleman’s game. They have to play a significant role in restoring the confidence of the people who have been felt cheated and heart-broken by the numerous off the field events during the past few months in particular.

The ACU of the ICC should be credited for their damage-control measures when the situation was even worse than what is today in the late 1990s and early 2000s with the stories of match-fixing doing the rounds every other day.

Pakistan’s cricketers are currently under the scanner for the obvious reasons but the ACU officials should not lose sight of the fact that the lust for quick bucks can lure players of the other countries too.

England’s cricketers are thorough-bred professionals but they are human beings too. It’s important for the ACU to keep an eye on their activities too because the rewards for under-performing are believed to be phenomenal to say the least.

Fingers are being pointed towards the England players for having fared terribly to lose the third and fourth One-day Internationals after having won the first two. Many people suspect wrongdoings as to how a depleted, demoralized and broken Pakistan team has been allowed to square the series in the unlikeliest of circumstances.

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Ijaz Butt fails miserably to handle pressure yet again

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

As I have written quite a few times earlier as well, the President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, under fire for his various controversial political appointments, has done the greatest disservice to the cause of the country by having ignored the follies of Ijaz Butt whom he had installed as the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) a little under two years ago.

Chaudhary Ahmed Mukhtar, the Federal Minister of Defence and one of the most prominent leaders of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party, had played the pivotal role in getting appointed his brother-in-law, Ijaz Butt, to this key post in October 2008.

Ijaz Butt has continued coming under stinging criticism from the various quarters for having considered himself above the law. Not only has he been guilty of putting aside merit in every matters but he has been ruthlessly playing around with the emotions of the people and more significantly getting away with it.

He is not afraid to say declare publicly that no force on earth could send him home except the appointing authority seemingly right behind him. It’s amazing how he has been allowed to operate in this manner and why he hasn’t been held accountable for having brought the country to disrepute to so many occasions.

With this kind of background it was not surprising at all to find him entangled with an anchor during a live interview with Geo News the other day.

Being straightforward is another matter but to take on the interviewer for no rhyme or reason is indeed an offence by someone holding a public office. There are many other ways of tackling provocative or probing questions but you are never expected to shout or behave indecently with millions watching you.

Ijaz Butt doesn’t take even a minute to lose his temper and talk nonsense even while giving interviews to the media. He remains under the illusion that his relationship with the Defence Minister has provided him the licence to kill and with his protection he was simply above board.

That must have been the reason at the back of his mind why he reacted so sharply when questioned if he was considering to quit following the recent events in England. Instead of giving a polite answer or even saying that he had no such plans he blasted the questioner saying she had no right to charge sheet him.

The worthy PCB Chairman went a step further by saying that he was going to charge sheet her. Thankfully Ijaz Butt wasn’t the head of the media organization the questioner was working for.

It was a clear enough indication how quickly the Pakistan cricket chief gets provoked and how shallow is his thinking. It reflected his poor communication skills as well. Any other person holding his position would have reacted differently and nobody would have thought of creating ugly scenes like this for the viewers.

Ijaz Butt, throughout his two-year term, has never had any kind of working relationship with media because of his attitude and temperament.

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Sindh Sports Boards brings smiles on faces of flood victims

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The Sindh Sports Board (SSB) has organized competitions of the various indigenous games at the relief camps in different parts of the province as a part of the drive undertaken by the government to raise the spirits of the people having had to relocate there following the devastation caused by the floods in their respective areas.

Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui, Secretary Sports & Youth Affairs to the Government of Sindh, who is also Secretary of the SSB, informed the media that the competitions of kodi kodi, wanjwatti, malakhro and tug of war were held at the SITE, Hawkesbay and Gadap camps of Karachi besides Khairpur, Sukkur and Jamshoro.

He disclosed that individual as well as team events were held among the camp residents and cash awards were also disbursed among the outstanding performers.

The celebrations of Eid-ul-Fitr were kept low-key throughout Pakistan in view of the devastation caused by the worst-ever floods in the country’s history, affecting some 20 million people and leaving ten million victims shelter-less across the country.

Eid was celebrated modestly as the fallout from devastating floods continued. It was a thoughtful decision of the Government of Sindh to have made an attempt to bring smiles on the faces of the flood victims on the occasion of Eid.

At this point of time any help act of kindness would have been welcome. It was nice of the sports department of the provincial government to have thought of the people having had to be confined in relief camps.

The personnel of the sports department of the Government of Sindh organized the various sports competitions, during the course of the Eid vacations, for those having been affected and displaced by the devastating floods. Separate events were held for the children as well. Sports after all remains the tool uniting the nation.

The recent floods have wreaked havoc in Pakistan. Many small towns and villages have been completely wiped off, dams have given way. The total loss cannot be computed but it would be more than the combined loss from four major world catastrophes-the tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, the Haiti earthquake and our own earthquake of 2005. Nothing like this has happened in the last 100 years.

"We cannot celebrate the day with traditional fanfare and festivities when millions of our countrymen have been rendered shelter-less as villages, towns and cities have been destroyed by the floods,” President Asif Ali Zardari had observed in his Eid message to the nation.

“This year’s Eid festival is being celebrated on such a moment of history, when a large part of country is under the devastation caused by floods. Millions of fellow countrymen are homeless and facing severe difficulties,” Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani noted in his Eid message.

“The country has come together with generosity to lessen the hardship faced by the flood victims. No doubt, brave nations face the challenges with courage and mettle,” the Prime Minister reckoned.

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Omar Cricket Club go down fighting in KG Ramazan final

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Omar Cricket Club went down fighting against Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC) in the final of the 25th KG Ramazan Festival Cricket Tournament 2010 at the Karachi Gymkhana Cricket Ground on September 7.

Set a challenging target of 202 in 20 overs, Omar CC, having stunned a few fancied rivals in the earlier games, was in the driving seat until the 13th over but they lost their seven wickets for 32 runs in 5.2 overs and KESC won the match by 36 runs.

The fourth wicket stand of 84 between Asif Raza (49 off 27 balls) and Farrukh Rizvi (41 off 23 balls) had put Omar CC on top as they needed just a further 69 in more than seven overs.

A couple of umpiring blunders derailed Omar CC who appeared in complete command of the situation until the dismissals of Asif and Farrukh in quick succession. Then the spin trio of Noman Alvi (3-28), Rizwan Khan (2-13) and Shahzeb Khan (2-16) completed the job for KEC

Earlier, put into bat, KESC got off to a flying start through openers Ahsan Ali (36 off 25 balls) and Rameez Raja (75 off 46 balls) as they put on 93 runs in quick time. The momentum was sustained by the middle order batsmen with Daniyal Ahsan (25 off 22 balls), Arif Mahmood (20 off 11 balls) and Sarfaraz Ahmed (25 off 14 balls) taking the total past 200.

The skipper of Omar CC, Nadeem Omar, was unable to hide his disappointment caused by the two umpiring decisions that denied his team from winning the tournament for the first time. Normally a very cheerful character he felt cheated by the umpires.

Many neutral observers present at the ground were also of the opinion that the two key umpiring decisions had changed the complexion of the game and both had gone against Omar CC, pointing in the direction of malpractices.

Sindh Sports Minister, Dr Syed Mohammad Ali Shah, was the chief guest in the prize distribution ceremony, presided over by Executive Director, Bahria Town (Pvt) Ltd, Zain Malik.

The Honorary Secretary Cricket, Karachi Gymkhana, Khurram Sadiq Monnoo, presented the tournament report while the welcome address was delivered by the Gymkhana’s President, Younis Rizwani.

Tournament Director, Mian Azmat Hussain, who is also Vice President of the Karachi City Cricket Association (KCCA) besides being the owner of the famed club, Mian Azmat Professionals, reflected on the 25-year-old history of the tournament.

All-rounder Arif Mahmood, who lifted the Bahria Town Trophy, for being the skipper of the victorious Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC), was also declared Man of the Tournament. He collected a cash award of Rs 15,000.

Khalid Latif of Malir Gymkhana was adjudged the best batsman of the tournament while Haris Ayaz (Tapal Cricket Club), Mohammad Waqar (KESC) and Ahmed Zeeshan (Tapal Cricket Club) were voted as the best bowler, the best fielder and the best wicketkeeper respectively. They were presented a purse of Rs 8,000 each.

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England's another helter-skelter win over demoralized Pakistan

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

What would you expect of the world champions, playing on their own turf, when taking on a demoralized and under-prepared outfit besieged by monumental problems? Obviously the hosts will make mince meat of the underdogs in such a scenario.

But this was not the case in either of the two Twenty20 Internationals between England and Pakistan at Cardiff. The home side emerged triumphant on both the occasions to pocket the mini-series 2-0 but they couldn’t display the kind of efficiency that was anticipated in the prevailing circumstances.

England fared marginally better in the second game, winning it by six wickets. They should have cruised to the target of 90 but they lost four wickets in the process to keep the contest alive.

The bowlers had done the job for England with the speedsters forcing the vulnerable Pakistan top order to submission with some hostile stuff and there was not much element of surprise in it.

Tim Bresnan, generating speed in the region of 90 mph, was rewarded for his magnificent attacking bowling performance and he richly deserved the figures of 3 for 10 off 3.4 overs. Stuart Broad proved equally lethal with the new ball and his short-pitched bowling brought him wickets.

Ryan Sidebottom, for the second game running, delivered an ordinary first over and was taken for runs in double digit. But his second spell was far more purposeful that cleaned the threatening tail.

The spin duo of Michael Yardy and Graeme Swann exploited the conditions by keeping it tight against the batsmen who were looking for singles in the middle overs. Umar Akmal, not for the first time, dared taking on Swann but the off-spinner had the last laugh.

Swann has been at the peak of his career of late and it’s not often to see him clobbered for sixes in the manner Umar did it two times. But the rampaging batsman was foxed by the slower one and it was all over for him.

Pakistan were losing wickets regularly and the overs were ticking by but England could not have taken anything for granted, having suffered against the same opponents in not too dissimilar situation in the past.

How would England forget the onslaught of Abdul Razzaq in Dubai earlier this year? For that matter they would not have taken Umar Gul lightly either after he got away with a few streaky shots.

Pakistan were bowled out for 89 inside 20 overs on a pitch that wasn’t horrible for batting. The bounce, more than the swing, undid the visitors and England were expected to coast to a comfortable win.

Openers Steven Davies and Craig Kieswetter got the hosts off to a confident start but both of them departed on successive deliveries against the run of play. Paul Collingwood and Ravi Bopara also failed and it was left to Eoin Morgan and Michael Yardy once again to do the job.

It looked like that the cricket enthusiasts in South Wales had assessed the situation beforehand and the amazingly thin attendance at the ground reflected the clear lack of interest to be a part of something not measuring to their standard. With a county-standard attendance of 5,821 in a Twenty20 International on a Sunday evening the people had given their verdict at the state of the affairs.

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Lawson judges Ijaz Butt to perfection

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Geoff Lawson, the former Australian fast bowler, may have had a brief stint as the Pakistan coach but he has judged Ijaz Butt, the current Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), to perfection.

Isn’t it a shame that so many of Pakistan’s former Test cricketers and commentators who appear on various television channels in role of experts whistle in the dark and very few of them are courageous enough to bring to light the real issue.

Either they lack in knowledge or they are not prepared to call a spade a spade due to the fear of annoying Ijaz Butt more often than not the patience of the viewers is tested. The real issue of the Pakistan cricket is the PCB Chairman and it’s amazing how Lawson has assessed him so well, much better than the Pakistanis.

In an interview Lawson has bitterly criticized Ijaz Butt for failing to provide the strong leadership that the country's cricket needs during one of their biggest challenges.

"Even through this crisis we have heard virtually nothing from their chairman. He hides from a crisis, he is not a leader and when Pakistan need a strong leader and people to show them the way forward, they are not getting it from their board," Lawson pointed out very correctly.

Lawson revealed that before the appointment of Ijaz Butt, Pakistan cricket had in place detailed long-term plans to develop the game from the grassroots up.

"There were 10 and 15 year plans, plans to build regional cricket academies, fitness, fitness trainers, physios and stocking gyms with better equipment and better pay for the first-class players," the former Australian fast bowler remarked.

"After the elections in 2008, it took some months with their hung parliament to appoint a new chairman and Ijaz Butt was appointed and really, I just see from that instant, there has been a decline in Pakistan cricket," he added.

Lawson was of the opinion that Salman Butt had done a great job with a young side since being appointed captain of Pakistan and he would be shocked if the left-handed opener turned out to be at the center of the spot-fixing scandal.

"If it is the case that these young players are being affected, then there is something very bad with the environment in which Pakistan cricket is being played in," he said.

Lawson considered the current crisis is the greatest Pakistan cricket has faced, and unlike previous crises, the team will not have the opportunity to mend fences by playing matches at home once things calm down.

"The hearings on Asif, Amir and Salman will be extremely important. I hope against hope that things will turn out alright but this is very much a watershed for Pakistan cricket right now," the former coach reckoned.

Lawson, it may be recalled, was one of the initial casualties when Ijaz Butt had succeeded Dr Nasim Ashraf as the Chairman of the PCB in 2008.

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England make heavy weather of modest task

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Pakistan’s cricket team, demoralized and weakened, due to the ongoing spot fixing scandal, came up with more than satisfactory performance in the first Twenty20 Internationals at Cardiff on September 5.

England, the reigning world champions in the shortest version of the game, made a heavy weather of the modest target of 127 and it was the unbroken sixth wicket partnership of 67 in 7.1 overs between Eoin Morgan and Michael Yardy that took them through after some anxious moments.

England had themselves to blame for having let their opponents come close to them. While the bowling was generally steady their catching left a lot to be desired. It was quite unusual for their fielders to have grassed as many as three catches in a T20 game

With the majority of the Pakistan players not well versed with the unpredictable weather conditions of England there was certainly an opportunity for the home team to dictate terms.

Pakistan’s tactics, after being put into bat by Paul Collingwood, were unsurprisingly as strange as ever with everyone bent upon playing his individual game rather than doing it for the team.

Kamran Akmal and Shahzeb Hasan, who opened the innings, went after the bowling from the very first ball as if they were to face dire consequences for treating the good balls with some degree of respect.

I don’t know what the Pakistan openers thought of themselves but it was really something out of the extraordinary to hammer the bowlers from the outset without getting their eyes set in the middle.

The agricultural shots commenced in the opening over bowled by left-arm quickie Ryan Sidebottom, one of the stars in England's World Twenty20 conquest in the Caribbean earlier this year. Kamran was not lucky enough to play around with Tim Bresnan whose extra pace did the trick.

The veteran Mohammad Yousuf, who was not in the scheme of things for T20 cricket for quite sometime, was probably drafted in the team more because of his vast international experience rather than his ability to play the ball late to bisect the fielders.

Yousuf chanced his arms once too often and many of his mistimed lofted shots just eluded the fielders. He was unable to get on top of the wily off-spinner, Graeme Swann, who bowled yet another magnificent spell. Shahzeb also was bamboozled by the same bowler. With the pitch offering extravagant turn, left-arm spinner Yardy also proved to be a hard nut to track.

With four wickets having gone down for 88 in 15.1 overs the pair of Umar Akmal and Shahid Afridi refrained from throwing caution to the wind in the final stages and they were happy to collect 38 runs off the last 29 balls of the innings. The hard-hitting Abdul Razzaq was not even required to bat.

England were not expected to be tested while chasing a target of 127 but the game had become wide open when lost fifth wicket at 77. The pace of Shoaib Akhtar and the spin of Shahid Afridi caught the hosts napping and it was left for Morgan and Yardy to repair the damage and they did the job to perfection.

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Now it’s Yasir Hameed in news for wrong reasons

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The anarchy prevailing in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for almost two years now resulted in another controversy and this time it was top-order batsman Yasir Hameed in the news for the wrong reasons.

The News of the World newspaper's Sunday edition has quoted Yasir having alleged that the Pakistan players are throwing matches.

"They were doing it in almost every match. God knows what they were up to. Scotland Yard was after them for ages. It makes me angry because I'm playing my best and they are trying to lose," Yasir has been shown saying in the interview.

The News of the World also quoted Yasir as saying he been offered up to 150,000 pounds ($232,000) to throw a match.

Yasir, in his conversations with a couple of private television channels in Pakistan, has denied the claims, which the News of the World says he made to an undercover reporter.

"I have not given any interview. All the claims of newspapers are false. I can't think of giving any statement like this one. Whatever the newspaper has written, it's their own,” Yasir said in a choked voice.

The uncertain manner in which the denial has come has certainly raised suspicions. He didn’t help his cause by hanging the phone when asked for the clarification by the Geo Television Network.

Yasir had played in the last week's fourth and final Test against England, in which Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir are alleged to have deliberately bowled no-balls in conspiracy with bookmakers.

Yasir’s case is the latest blow to the Pakistan cricket while the Chairman of the PCB, Ijaz Butt, remains aloof in this probably the most critical phase in the cricketing history of the nation.

The PCB Chairman has been deaf and dumb for the past few days and there has hardly been any effort to control the damage. His cronies have not been able to handle the situation and the task of dealing with the crisis has apparently been passed on to the Pakistan High Commissioner, Wajid Shamsul Hasan, who obviously doesn’t seem to be having the complete information with him.

The Pandora’s Box has been opened and the Pakistani cricketers are at the centre of what has been described as the biggest controversy to have rocked the world cricket for a number of years.

The observations of Yasir have only added fuel to the fire. By the look of things he didn’t know that he was sharing the information with a journalist but he should have still not talked the subject with someone he didn’t know well enough.

In any case he should have avoided a discussion on this issue with anyone at this stage when each and every move of the Pakistani cricketer is being monitored.

The News of the World has been on the lookout for gathering maximum possible information into the story they have broken and they are also looking at the soft targets.

Being a fringe player, who only recently staged a comeback in the national team, Yasir obviously was more likely to speak his mind and he ‘obliged’ them with the kind of ‘material’ they were looking for.

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