MATCH FIXING
I wasn’t planning to write a new thread so early but, the news about new allegations on match fixing scandals against Pakistan cricket team has resurfaced after a decade and reportedly two of the players from the current team are involved in it has prompted me to write a short but, a bold note against a system that is corrupt. Until and unless that system is not changed and those responsible are not removed from the important positions they are holding such allegations will keep on surfacing again and again.
1. What was the need to appoint Ijaz Ahmad as the coach for U-19 team and then he was appointed as a coach for the Pakistan national team for 2 matches in the UAE? He is not only incompetent but, he is one of those players who was banned by the judicial commission headed by Justice Qayyum. Then, very recently he was jailed for issuing a dud cheque of 1.3 million rupees against a property scam. Now that Waqar Younus has been appointed as the national coach for the Pakistan team, Ijaz will take over the job of a fielding coach, as if he was Jonty Rhodes of Pakistan team?
CHOR KA BHAI GIROH-CUT
2. Yesterday’s thief is today’s policeman? Wasim Akram is also one of those players who was fined by the judicial commission for match fixing and he has been appointed as one of the members of the inquiry commission to investigate the Pakistan team’s dismal performances on their recent tour of Australia.
KAL KA CHOR AAJ KA SANIYASI
First of all Wasim Akram should never be allowed to enter in any of the offices of the cricket board let aside representing them as a coach, manager or even a committee member. His past is very tainted and he carries a taboo, a man with no credibility and no respect for his own country. He is spending all his time in India, he has no love for the country except for money. When all the Pakistani players were ignored by the IPL, he is hired by them as the bowling coach for Kolkata Knight Riders. He should have resigned in protest for the honour of the country and he should not be doing any TV shows or accepting their sponsorships. But, he is dying to be in the limelight in India. So, what is the need of calling him from India? He did not attend the first two sessions of the committee meetings but, he came back for the third. What knowledge does he have about what happened in Australia while he was sitting in India?
This ad-hoc and off the cuff management from the PCB is not only hurting the game of cricket in Pakistan but, it is tarnishing the nation’s image internationally. Ijaz Butt is the biggest disgrace in the cricketing world. He does not commit mistakes, he makes blunders and on top of that he is such a thick skinned person that he would not resign. Most people thought that when there was a terrorist attack in Lahore on the Sri Lankan team, it was his moral obligation to resign. Au contraire, he did not even apologize to the Sri Lankan players and he had the audacity to give threats to the ICC official Chris Broad who complained about the lack of security. Butt, accused him of suing, the Urdu expression “Ulta Chor Kotwal Ko Daantay” befits in his case.
SAADAY GROUP ICH SUB SUTTAY BAAZ CHOR UTANGAY TAY BADMAASHAAN
The PCB has officially announced a list of 30 probables for the upcoming T20 WC in the Caribbean next month but, they have not announced the Captain yet. Which shows the intentions of Butt & Co. to make sure they accommodate Shoaib Malik, rather consolidate his place by making him Captain of the team. Otherwise, Shoaib Malik has no place in the team on the basis of merit, neither as a batsman nor as a bowler. Yet he self proclaims that he is the best all-rounder in the country? An all-rounder who knows how to play dirty politics in the team, he knows the art of disuniting the team by creating regional differences and by creating groups and by enticing them to under perform, in short he is a pain in the neck.
It is for the people of Pakistan to raise a voice against the PCB management and its unethical and unprofessional attitude and get rid of Butt & Co. Shouldn’t you be echoing these sentiments and creating ripples to get your voice heard? Please do that and do your team and your country a big favour. Write against them. Thanks.
To give a Dhukka Start or Jump lead to this thread, who is going to bet his two cents on Kamran Akmal and Shoaib Malik for match fixing?
JAK i wil definatly bet my 2 cents on khatmal and malik. If u c sydney test closely and performance of akmal it is very hard to swallow that he missed all these chances cause of bad form only i can understand the catches even they r very straight forward and gives him benifit of doubt but what about the runout of shane watson which bad form prevented him to take the bails out? As for shoaib malik he is a convicted match fixer and he is like kutay ki dum which u can put in a pipe and burry it for 100 years but still it cnt come straight
Et tu Bruté?
Apart from Pakistanis, even the Indians and the Indian cricket board * BCCI * has asked Zardari to dismiss Ijaz Butt from the PCB
“The Indians have probably calculated that their demands to remove Butt would find favour in Pakistan, where he is hardly the most popular man following the country’s dismal recent showing in Australia. Many see this former Pakistani Test cricketer as a political appointee: he is the brother-in-law of the country’s defence minister and an important member in Punjab of Zardari’s Pakistani Peoples Party. In a land where cricket and politics are inextricably mixed and where both have many factions, Butt has not only faced criticism from former cricketers such as Javed Miandad but also politicians,”
Read the whole news:
http://thenews.jang.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=226407
After Blabbing Shit in front of the media, Butt realized his blunder
http://thenews.jang.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=226401
First he said, “Match-fixing could be going on but it is hard to prove,” Butt said. “We have proof against two players but I cannot reveal the names of players involved in match-fixing,” he also commented that the PCB has received concrete proof against the two cricketers over their involvement in match-fixing from the ICC. But, the ICC has is unaware of any such reports.
When he was asked at point blank range by the media from the two players, is Kamran Akmal one of them? Then, he took a complete U turn and categorically denied that the players and cases he was referring to were current ones. He said by bringing up the cases, 10-12 years old, he was merely trying to clarify how the ICC procedure on incidents of match-fixing works between the body and boards. That was supposed to be Butt’s missed F’art.
i was under the impression its more of under performing to undermine the current captain than match fixing. but again, end of the day both are not different. may be this is what boards had to look into. a deliberate underperformer gets away with a warning , while a match fixer has to bite the bullet. if under performing is taken into consideration, i guess lot of the current players would be in the commentary box now
BREAKING NEWS
An American news agency has claimed that Rana Naved and Kamran Akmal are the 2 players involved in match fixing.
in the case of india, there is a rumour about zahir and harbhajan underperforming under rahul dravid. dravid resigned not because of bad performances, he resigned when the team was actually doing well. i guess just after the england tour, where we won the series after a long time
Disclose names or face criminal case: Dasti to Butt
Islamabad, Feb 27 (PTI) The head of the National Assembly standing committee on sports Jamshed Dasti today threatened to file a criminal case against Ejaz Butt if the PCB chief did not disclose the names of players suspected of match-fixing.
PCB Chairman Butt yesterday stunned the cricket world by saying that ICC had given them credible match-fixing evidence against two of their players.
However he later retracted, saying he was referring to some old players and not the current ones.
Dasti said Butt must disclose the names of the players whether former or current.
“Whether he is talking about current or old players we think the nation has the right to know what is going on in Pakistan cricket,” Dasti, a strong critic of Butt, said.
Dasti’s committee has already summoned Butt and other PCB officials for a hearing on March 6 to discuss cricket matters.
Javed A Khan Afridi
Now it is clear that your suspicions were well thought out. Even though Ijaz Ahmed and Wasim Akram are shady characters we have 2 new names- Akmal and Rana.
khansahab
If Butt goes to the meeting on March 6th, he will again be sleeping during the proceedings. I don’t think he will disclose the names for the sake of Punjab.
And, how come an American news agency got hold of the names before anyone else? I mean I am intrigued because there is no interest in cricket in America.
I have been reading on this blog but didn’t get a chance to actually post something, but here I am now. Lot’s of development in Pakistan cricket which is yet again taking the cricket to nowhere. I will start with the coach, Waqar Younis, great bowler but I still believe that he is not the best choice to be the head coach for the team. Yes we can use him as bowling coach as he had delivered in the past with his stint with Woolmer. He can tell a bowler the art of swing but he cannot create strategy for the game or give the team a direction. I still believe that Moin Khan is the best choice to be the coach of Pakistan team as he always think what the oppositon is going to think and adapt to that situation. He will instill the self belief that this team is lacking, if someone is not performing he will be the first one to call for his head and I think that is what team needs right now.
As far as selection is concerned Malik days are over, give Alam a more consistent chance and tell him that he is a batting all-rounder give him number one down position. Bara khutmal should be permanently stay away from team. Afridi should be the captain with Razzaq as his deputy. For openers Nazir, Shazaib or Afridi whould open with Alam or Umar as one down. For bowlers Asif, Gul, Aamir and Ajmal can do the job with Alam, Razzaq and Afridi. I have seen this new guy Mohammed Irfan 6’10 is good too I mean he look good in the videos I saw playing for Karachi Whites. He is raw but with some fine tuning with Waqar he can become another asset for Pakistan.
Lastly, what a knock from Sachin haven’t seen that kind of batting, although he was slow after crossing 194 but I think it doesn’t matter he is the first one who made the history. Well played Sachin!!
Ali Ahad
On the coaching assignment, Miandad would have been ideal but he declined because he needs to give time to his family.
Saeed Anwar declined the job of Chief Selector but, he declined it by saying he is not capable for that kinda big assignment ( a realistic approach ) he said, he may consider the job of a batting coach provided they offer him. Last time Ijaz Butt declined his services and later denied that he never applied for one. But, right now it is open in public. Saeed Anwar wants to help the batting line up as a batting coach.
Moin Khan has certain problems of his own as such he may not command respect from the team. It is important that the team respects the coach and the coach has to be fair.
Rashid Latif could be better than Moin as he commands more respect. But, will they offer him that job?
Mohsin Khan could be fine for that job, but once again will the offer him that job?
They want someone from Punjab and not from Karachi.
Therefore, right now among all the candidates, Waqar Younus should be OK, agreed that he has certain limitations but, who doesn’t? Definitely he would be a good bowling coach. But, then how many coaches you want? Batting, Bowling, Fielding and a Head Coach. That’s too much.
As regards Mohammad Irfan, he is not 6′-10 but, he is 7′-1 inches tall, perhaps the tallest cricketer in the world ever i.e., if he plays international matches for Pakistan. Check out his profile.
http://www.cricinfo.com/pakistan/content/player/429981.html
Regarding Manoj Prabhakar, I am surprised not many people know about this incident where he tampered with the ball. I agree with Javed A Khan that the global media or global perspective seems to be biased against Pakistan.
Afridi has had a controversial past, which is agreed. He has scuffed the pitch and also “shown” his bat to an abusive spectator, but the first time he committed a serious error (pitch scuffing) he was already being perceived as a shady character by many. So on the basis Manoj should also be viewed in exactly the same way and it is biased for someone to say that Dravid, Tendulkar or Manoj (or for that matter, any international cricketer) should not be perceived in such a way as Afridi was perceived after his pitch scuffing incident.
However, because Tendulkar and Dravid can speak fluent English, and because of their status in Test cricket, they have not been afforded proportionate criticism. This is a fact.
Now coming to Pakistan cricket, the PCB senior level members should all resign straightaway due to these match fixing revelations. Why did they allow this to happen?
Akmal, Rana under match-fixing scanner: Reports
Karachi, Feb 27 (PTI) Wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal and pacer Rana Naved are the two players allegedly under investigation by the Pakistan cricket Board for their involvement in match-fixing.
The Voice of America quoting a highly placed source in the board reported today that both the players were dropped for the T20 international series against England in Dubai this month for this very reason.
“Although both have been named in the 30 probables for the T20 World Cup but they will eventually not be selected in the final 15,” the source said.
According to the source, the PCB acted after the International cricket council provided them with information that linked the two players to match-fixing.
PCB chairman Ejaz Butt had stopped short of naming the two players yesterday at a press conference.
Khansahab,
If true, then they have been losing matches since the last 9 years and singlehandedly losing the matches.
In fact there repeated selection despite very poor performances means that the PCB may implicitly also be connected with this– this is perhaps where the senate should get involved, and seek direct evidence from the ICC. Izaz Butt was fairly stupid to say that it probably still happens– what is he there for?
For Rana this might be nothing new, he was part of the brigade in the ICL where it is believed matchfixing was rampant.
Razzaq wasn’t part of that team and if he didn’t choose to participate because of that reason, we could see why the PCB might have punished him by not selecting him and selecting Rana– as we all know how things work, everyone has a cut.
khansahab@13,
In the previous thread when I mentioned Dravid and Tendulkar as the Holy Cows of World Cricket, I was not airing my personal view but what I believe the majority of the Cricketing community thinks. There might be a few exceptions to this thought on LS, but I do not see the Critics of DravidnTendulkar to be in the majority now whether it is the BCCI clout or whatever that’s for someone else to find out.
I think more than the language skills what matters is how articulate you are whichever language you are using. Even after Dravid and Tendulkar’s incidents, I do not recall any unrealistic statements from them during or after their enquiry but by saying that 1. I was smelling the ball. 2. Everyone does it, Afridi did not help his case and hence got the punishment.
In this age of Cameras and the extra scrutiny over the Players, they have to be more careful on and off the field as to how they are presenting themselves in front of the public as not only they are a part of the best 11 but also representatives of their Countries whenever they adorn the Team Shirt. One might be a champion on the field but you should also be able to carry yourself well off the field to generate or command the kind of Respect one deserves.
I don’t understand on the Current form Who would have offered money to Khatmal to drop even more catches and Rana to bowl more yorkers-turning-low full tosses?
Varun
That comment from Akhroat, “I was only smelling the ball” was supposed to be a Pathan sense of humour a crude joke. Also, what he said: “Everyone does it” was not before the punishment but, after the punishment. The second comment may appear as unwanted or stupid, but that is him ‘bold & khurr dimagh.’ And, it is a fact that they all do and try to cover it and deny it. Even more sinister is when the media chooses whom to cover and whom to defame?
Some people have asked, even you said, why talk about Prabhakar now, when it is a 20 years old matter? That is the thing. First you cover it and hide it and no one knows about it until 20 years. Then, on a similar offense when a Pakistani player is caught doing the same thing, you make the headlines and you try to create a juicy story (by you I mean media) and when someone digs out the old case or the cold case, people say. Forget about him on the basis of:
1. It is a 20 years old case
2. Prabhakar was an idiot, a match fixer.
3. Prabhakar was not as famous as Afridi etc., etc.
OK, then someone goes and dig out more info, who else has done it? You get to know some big names like Dravid and Tendulkar, both fined 50% and 75% match fees and the later banned for 2 matches and not only he (the god) said, he was innocent as he was removing grass petals from the ball. The world believed him, because the media wanted them to believe it like that. Amazing isn’t it?
The source of Voice of America news about Akmal and Rana is TIMES OF INDIA.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/top-stories/Akmal-Rana-react-strongly-against-match-fixing-allegation/articleshow/5625351.cms
Javed Sir,
With all due respect, I can agree that the Cricket Media is controlled by BCCI or whosoever Indian in the recent times but in that decade when Prabhakar played Indian board was not what it is today and I don’t know if at all (as you believe) there was or is an entity who tried to hide this all these years.
Moreover the ICC was not as strict that time as it is thesedays for any such incidents, ofcourse there might be a bias against Asian or Non-White playing players as some believe.Also in India Match-Fixing was a much more hot topic instead of Ball-Tampering in that time of the 90′s.
You or I can maybe understand the Pathan sense of Humour but how would make it understand to the Goras?
Regarding Tendulkar and Dravid’s incident, Now I am not trying to defend anything what they did but you will also agree with me that using fingernails to tamper the ball is so easy to do even in this era of cameras and what not because anyone can hide the ball in his hand:- the bowler while taking his run-up can use his thumb nails quite easily to do some damage to the seam, So I am not really sure if they can really catch anyone doing any damage to the ball unless until it is so conspicuous that the Umpire on usual inspection is able to see some Teeth or Shoe Marks on it. The same goes for applying any Sugary liquid or syrup.
Ok cutting the long story short my point here is that in my view both of their Crimes were not so severe for all of us to keep on racking our brains on as to Why anybody outside from Pakistan is not talking about it now? Well, Most importantly for 2 reasons:-
1. They were punished for it.
2. The offence has not been repeated.Can you say the same for Afridi?
Those incidents got their due when it happened so why not find something new to support your argument.
Even after Afridi’s incident I read what Harsha Bhogle wrote and he also said that Shahid Afridi is the best person to be the Pakistani Captain, still I do not know why you think that the Media is biased against him or any Pakistani.
Whenever anybody commits an offence especially an Asian(In the British Sense for our British Audience) Player whether it is Tendulkar or Afridi, they are always under more scrutiny even if the Aussies and English are doing the same thing but admit it few years later!!
Mike Denness the Match Referee needs no introduction and Sachin was not the only player there were 6 in all who were punished and this was something which caught the opposition Captain also by surprise as it was thought to be a harsh punishment.
Interesting Info (upto 2006)
Match referees with most reports
Clive Lloyd 29 from 183 matches
Chris Broad 22 from 90
John Reid 21 from 148
Ranjhan Madugalle 19 from 167
Mike Procter 17 from 140
Most reported countries
Pakistan 53
India 44
South Africa 41
Australia 38
New Zealand 26
England 23
Zimbabwe 22
Sri Lanka 20
West Indies 13
Bangladesh 6
Kenya 1
Others 5
Joint Individual Leaders with 12 times being reported to the Match Referee are Saurav Ganguly and Inzamam-ul-Haq.
Even here there was an intense race to grab the top spot!
Javed Khan,
Times of India refers to Voice of America as being the source within the article.
I think we need to keep an open mind about this– it is not necessarily the case that these allegations are false.
Ijaz Butt, the chairman says, that it “probably still happens”. We thought that people like Inzamam could never fix matches, but as it is, rumour of Lahore Badshahs consistently fixing matches in the ICL is rampant. Inzamam was also fined earlier in his career in the Justice Qayyum report.
Here’s the link:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/sport/cricket/763387.stm
The only difference between the players here and Wasim and Salim Malik is that the latter don’t have a beard. This is why, they are blamed by the Pakistani public, while the rest simply ‘can’t do it’. So, what was happening out there in the ICL?
Quite recently, just like Butt said it ‘probably’ happens, Waqar Younis said, when queried about the Malik-led groupism, “it has always happened in Pakistan cricket and the team had matchwinners before so it used to win, I won’t go into detail about this”.
For this, and giving the politically correct answer and saving Malik, he has been rewarded with the job of coaching the team. Him saying that it has always happened, so it should always happen is right up there with Butt’s statement. You wouldn’t expect this from Waqar because he was at the wrong end of groupism, but unfortunately there are other reasons for this solidarity with Malik and the likes of Akmal.
Varun
I did not pinpoint my fingers at BCCI, I simply used the word media and other than media there is a lobbying group. One who supports and the other who hates. As regards Afridi, there are supporters and haters. There are haters within the country also. You must have read the reports coming from some Senators and Ministers who were asking for a longer ban on Afridi, some said 5 years and some said ban him for life, they are Shoaib Malik’s uncles and uncles friends. Imran Khan said, you cannot punish anyone twice for the same offense. Yes, Harsha Bhogle and even Ramiz Raja said that Afridi would be the best choice to lead T20 and ODI’s. That is something else. The media in general pick up words and report them out of context. Like, no one remembers what others said after ball tampering, I am sure they did say something to defend themselves. But, they take advantage of the fact that when someone from Pakistan especially those who enjoy celebrity status they are after them.
As regards reporting to match referees:
1. What can you do if SA did not report about Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson?
2. What can you do if the umpire Mark Benson did not report against Ricky Ponting when he told Benson, “You are a disgrace to umpiring.” This happened in Malaysia when Benson called back Tendulkar after giving him out by mistake when the ball hit his shoulder. Benson did not report because of brotherhood bonds.
3. What can you do if Asad Rauf feels intimidated by the Australians on field and did not report to the match referee about how rude and hostile the Australians were when he turned down their appeals? Asad Rauf did not report because he wanted to continue umpiring in Australia and make his livelihood.
Omer Admani
When Inzamam was fined by Justice Qayyum, he was not wearing a bread, the transformation took place later. Wasim Akram was not banned for life like Salim Malik, Ijaz Ahmad and Ata ur Rahman because of his celebrity status. And, it is really very sad that Waqar Younus took Shoaib Malik’s side (I was not aware of this, when and where did you read his report?) Yes, they have revolted against Javed Miandad twice and that was because of regionalism. They revolted against Younus Khan because of regionalism. They revolted against Yousuf because of personal vendetta i.e., to settle a score against him through “groupism”. Yousuf is not biased against people from other provinces, he is not a good captain that is another matter.
It is very hard to say without any concrete evidence whether Akmal or Rana were involved in betting? I think a proper investigation must be made and their assets and bank accounts must also be checked. But, these days people are not so naive to accept bribes in their name and keep it in their bank accounts. There can be a front man and it could be all in cash. One never knows. Earlier they were stupid, reportedly Salim Malik and Ata ur Rahman and a lot of other players from India and Pakistan used to keep their money in the Dubai banks when the money laundering laws were not implemented and anyone can open off-shore accounts and keep money in FC.
Javed Khan,
The evidence is supposedly provided by the ICC (if the players have been correctly identified by the media).
I agree with you, it is hard to imagine someone paying them to underperform.
But, it could be that, there are elements within the PCB who are involved, who have mixed with some of the players such as Rana for the last 7-8 years– and each has a cut, one consistently performs poorly, the other puts him back in the team. This is how the system might work there. Note that when the talk was about Razzaq coming back in the team, a very individualistic person who wasn’t involved with Lahore Badshas, the PCB was intent on putting a ban for a few years as a ‘punishment’ for defecting with the ICL. As soon as Rana and company were released, they were immediately put in the team and no punishment was forthcoming. In fact when the lahore Badshas were, as it is rumored and widely believed, fixing matches in the ICL, what do you think, the PCB personnel won’t have a cut for arranging the deals and the like?
Inzamam got a beard afterwards and everyone forgot his history– I don’t see justice Qayyum fining him if there was no evidence whatsoever. All the players (almost) were warned and let go and one or two were scapegoated to make an example.
Javed Khan,
Actually it is not too unlikely. In that match in Sydney (the second test), the odds were more than 1:100 in favor of Pakistan. So, you could well imagine, why these opportunities are good for buying players.
Besides that, Kamran Akmal played the most appaling shot that one might see in the second innings of that match in that situation, right up there with his pull in the world cu against Ireland. So, these allegations should be thoroughly investigated by the parliament, they should also investigate the board completely, as the way Butt has treated the whole thing reflects that corruption is plaguing the whole system.
Javed Khan …
You said, But, what puzzles me is how could he (Rana) get a perfect gene match from a white man’s butt skin on his face?
Well, just imagine that ‘white man’s’ happiness when someone kisses Rana’s face.
Javed A Khan Afridi
The first time I heard about this Voice of America news, it was reported by ARY News and there was no mention of Times of India or any Indian news agency.
Akmal and Rana should receive life bans if found guilty.
Ball tampering is not as contemptible an offence as match fixing.
Ball tampering is indeed something practised by every team- match fixing is only practised by the shadiest characters.
Pakastan Parliament were saying Afridi should be banned for 5 years, banned for life etc and now the least they can do is to ban Akmal and Rana for life.
Wasim Akram, Shoaib Malik, Salim Malik, Ata ur Rehman, Inzamam, Mushtaq, Saqlain, Ijaz Ahmed, Aaqib, and now Akmal and Rana.
What is common amongst these players?
Miandad opposes Waqar’s appointment as Pak coach
Lahore, Feb 28 (PTI) The Pakistan Cricket Board seems divided on making Waqar Younis the national team’s coach and Director General Javed Miandad has opposed the former pacer’s appointment, citing his involvement in the match-fixing scandal.
Miandad said he is surprised that the PCB had not heeded to the Justice Malik Qayyum’s report on match fixing issued 10 years ago and was giving responsibilities to those players who were fined on the basis of the report.
“Everyone knows that Justice Qayyum had recommended to the board to not give positions of responsibility to Waqar, Aaqib Javed, Wasim Akram etc in Pakistan cricket but this is what is happening,” he said.
“I don’t see the logic behind offering Waqar the coaching position because he was with the team in Australia as bowling and fielding coach and didn’t do anything notable.
What a match !
The Australia / New Zealand second T20 was a real thriller. Whoever missed it, has missed one of the finest T20 game ever. It started at 00:30 hrs and ended at 03:30 hrs EST initially I thought I might just watch a few overs and hit the sack. But, right from the first few overs the match created so much interest that I had remained up and now lost my sleep. Imagine it was a 200 plus runs match ending up in a tie and then they had to play the super over!
Brendon McCullum played one of the finest innings of T20 116* just one run short of Chris Gayle’s record of 117. And, the shots he played were amazing, he frustrated Shaun Tait who gave away 40 runs in 4 overs. McCullum must have played at least 4 – 5 Dilscoop shots and two of them were sixes and both of Tait.
Tim Southee the 23 year old kid bowled superbly and the last two overs he bowled plus the super over resulted in NZ win. Whereas Jacob Oram almost ruined the match, I think it is about time Oram should hang his boots and call it a day. His batting and bowling form is almost zilch.
Cameron White played a good knock along with MJ Clarke but, that was not enough to win. NZ always plays well against Australia. And, reportedly no team has ever scored 200 plus runs against Australia, so NZ are the first ones.
Munir
Your imagination is not running wild but, it is running down and under the white man’s pants. Some how I had a feeling after writing that comment that only you will respond to it and you did.
Omer Admani
To conclusively say that the ICC provided the evidence to the PCB and the PCB has the evidence, you know that the PCB is like a black hole and you know where it starts from?
You will never get any documentary proof from them. Because, they have to save Rana and Akmal both, especially Akmal.
Today, the IHF WC is starting in New Delhi and, today (Sunday) at 3:00 p.m. EST USA is playing the Winter Olympics final against Canada. Both teams will put up their best performances. The USA has so far been more consistent in this tournament and they have already beaten Canada in the round match. But, Canada is hopeful that they can beat us once but, not twice in a row. But, it all depends on how they play those 60 minutes of hockey! Our Prime Minister is on a kinda holiday is busy in Vancouver BC watching winter Olympics and he said, he will be there for the hockey final. Go Canada Go.
Javed Khan …
Some how I had a feeling after writing that comment that only you will respond to it and you did.
Hehehe … who can know a Pathan better then another Pathan.
BTW, nice article about match-fixing and some good points raised. Wasim’s picture is also quite appropriate, I would say.
It seems like no one watched the 2nd T20 match last night. It was fantastic, I am happy because, I was supporting NZ, in fact anyone against Australia, I support them. After the first T20 which was almost one sided there was a talk that Australia is coming up very well in this form of the game and they will be a force to reckon. Especially with players like Watson, Warner, White, Haddin, Clarke, Tait, Nannes and Johnson and they were saying that it is very likely that Australia will walk away with the cup. But T20 is anyone’s game on that particular day. And, McCullum has shown the weakness of Tait by taking advantage of his speed and scoring behind the wickets and in the fine leg region. In the super over Tait was so frustrated that he bowled a super wide ball and he almost forgot his line and length.
Pakistan are bad starters but, they cannot expect to win the Cup each time after a bad start, they have to keep playing well throughout.
Javed Khan,
These 1:100 opportunities aren’t turned around often in cricket. If we were to open our vision to the possibility– the bets run in millions, 100s millions…some of the PCB people can be so easily involved in this.
Kamran Akmal has been dropping catces in crucial test matches for the last 8-9 years.
Rana Naveed usually goes for 60 or 65 runs in his 10 overs and then suddenly he tends to go at 90 runs, 100 runs. If you remember the last 20/20 match in Australia, what was Rana doing with the bat? Again he turned around a probable Pakistan win.
khansahab
What Miandad has just said, we have been saying this on this blog since a long time and even in this current thread we have repeated the same thing. As regards Waqar, I was not aware that he was in the list of Justice Qayyum warning the PCB not to give position of responsibility to these players, because Waqar was appointed as a bowling coach during Bob Woolmer and Inzi days and he was replaced by Mullah Mushy because of Inzamam’s relation in beard and Tableegh. Now, that Waqar has also grown a beard he seems to have qualified for the post. I am actually surprised to know from Omer Admani that Waqar took Shoaib Malik’s side when he appeared before the inquiry commission by saying, such things keep happening i.e., revolting against the captain . WTF? What about the grouping and negative tactics and politics he played with other players and convinced them to under perform. This is worst than match fixing through betting and bribing.
Javed Khan,
Here is the complete Justice Qayyum report. You can also see the allegations of underbowling against England in detail.
Crucially, two people from the team, Basit Ali and Rashid Latif, blew the whistle. The groupism in the team ended their careers and nothing much happened to the matchfixers.
This pputs the present situation into context, it is happening every now and then– and the two people with very shady characters are Rana Naveed and Kamran Akmal (especially Rana Naveed– he has only one religion).
http://static.cricinfo.com/db/NATIONAL/PAK/NEWS/qayyumreport/qayyum_report.html
Here’s one more important part of the Qayyum report:
“Therafter the first task at hand was to define what match-fixing was. For the purpose of this inquiry, ‘match-fixing’ is defined as deciding the outcome of a match before it is played and then playing oneself or having others play below one’s/ their ability to influence the outcome to be in accordance with the pre-decided outcome. Match-fixing is done primarily for pecuniary gain.”
http://static.cricinfo.com/db/NATIONAL/PAK/NEWS/qayyumreport/qayyum_report.html
In other words, matchfixing is only defined so long as players ‘tamper’ with the outcome of the match.
You can see where this leads to and why everyone got away with it?
If XYZ is asked to underperform, make a 0, it is not matchfixing. Because there is no condition to tamper with the outcome of the match. There are bets, such as, bowl so and so many wides or no balls, and so on…they have been excluded too. A very narrow definition has been used…so we can see why most have come out with a paltry fine.
Canada men beat USA for the Ice Hockey gold. Heartbreaking game for me. I was watching and so excited when USA tied 2-2 with seconds left for end of regulation. Then Canadians came back charged up in overtime and scored the winning goal. So close and yet so far for USA. But, Ice Hockey is Canadian national game, and it was theirs to lose. So Team USA did great.
newguy
I was also watching the USA / Canada men hockey final and it was indeed a breathtaking game. Canada scored first goal in 7th minute of first period and then again in the 9th minute of the second period and minutes later USA scored their first goal. But, credit goes to the USA team for the final 70 seconds when they played with the empty net and scored the equalizer 24 seconds before the final whistle. I was thinking that the momentum has shifted and the US will score in the sudden death extra time, but what a goal from Crosby. You won’t believe a second before he scored that goal, I said WTF this sob captain Sydney Crosby doing? He is just a celebrity and not done anything and just as I finished the sentence he scored that goal. Upon asking, himself he was not able to describe how he scored the goal? He said, I dunno, I wasn’t even thinking, it just happened, he showed his opponent that he is turning right but, he left flicked the puck into the net. Canada has created history by winning 14 gold medals in winter Olympics and it is a record for any host country to secure that many golds. The previous best was 13 gold.
newguy
btw did you read / see the news about the Canadian girls hockey team what they did after winning the final? For those who don’t know, these girls went inside the dressing room and came back to the arena after the crowd left and sat on the ice, stretched their legs and took out huge bottles of Champagne and Beer and big Cigars and were drinking, smoking, partying. The AFP reporters and photographers saw that and took a lot of pictures and published them. One of the Canadian girls was 18 and in BC Vancouver the legal age for drinking is 19, so they said she was involved in illegal drinking. They are supposed to be role models and they did this to celebrate, although some broad minded people said, its a part of the victory celebrations but, generally people criticized that.
Omer Admani
Pls. don’t pick up another debate just for the heck of it, because I did not compare the standard of education between the two countries, except for the fact that Royal Victoria Hospital which comes under the McGill Universities, the two faculties i.e. IV Fertility and Neurology are world famous and post graduates from the UK and USA come here to work/research in these two faculties. If you are not aware of it, please ask any doctor you know and he/she may be able to confirm to you.
The Daily DAWN of Karachi is such a pathetic newspaper that they don’t update their Internet Edition for up to 2-3 days. I know there is Eid Milad un Nabi holidays but, some of the news items on the cricket page are 5-6 days old. The only reason I read is to get some sports news from Pakistan. The News is slightly better in terms of updating but they have placed a notice that there will be no edition due to holiday. Still they also carry old news for 3-4 days.
Newguy,
Of course the US lost at ice hockey. Any type of sport with anything “ice”-related, you can’t compete with the Canadians
Javed Khan,
You are picking one thing out of a million things, and what are you attempting to say by mentioning that?
Javed Khan,
Iqbal’s sher:
Nahi tera Nasheman khisr-sultani ke gumbad par
Tu Shaheen hai! Basera kar pahadon ki chattanon mein
“Not for you the nest on the dome of the Sultan’s mansion
You are the Eagle! You reside in the mountain peaks.”
Javed,
Yeah, I saw / read what the girls hockey team did after their victory, and I thought that was very silly of them to do it. They could have celebrated anywhere, but on the ice. I guess all of these players are so young and success goes to their head so easily they don’t know what to do.
BTW, world cup is going on in field hockey I believe? India defeated Pakistan 4-1 today I think. But, these days neither India nor Pakistan is a force in field hockey. Aussies, English, Spaniards, Germans, and so on are superior to them. I don’t follow field hockey, just read it on one of the Indian sites.
newguy
honestly speaking I have no interest in field hockey anymore. That is because of the pathetic performance and then you don’t know any of the players, so what’s the point following? Good they lost.
Omer why that IK-Ball ka Sher for me and what is the significance and relevance here? Btw, the last word of the second verse is not mein but, PAR. And, then it rhymes whereas your poetry like your argument doesn’t rhyme
And, your good reasons are not good enough. 
I saw that movie on TV about Princess Diana, called “The Murder of Princes Diana.” Jennifer Morrison (She is one of the doctors in the TV show HOUSE) played the lead role of Rachel ….. an American journalist working for some British magazine.
Although critics have not appreciated it on technical grounds that it is a highly fictionalized and, it doesn’t have any mystery, intrigue, suspense, thrills, a hook that keeps you riveted, anxious to know whodunit and why? IMO, its not a bad movie. I think they did not mention the names of whodunit and why because politically it is incorrect to raise fingers at the British intelligence agencies and why she was killed is also a very sensitive matter related to the Royal Family of the UK i.e., to unveil and expose the truth that the Princess was pregnant and Dodi fathered her child etc., etc. Therefore, keeping off all the realities or suspicions that would stir another uproar among the masses who adored her as a deity. The mystery of Diana’s death will always remain an unsolved mystery like Who Shot Kennedy and Who is Behind Zia ul Haq’s assassination? If you wanna watch a movie for the sake of entertainment its not a bad one. I kinda liked it. If anyone of you have seen may comment on it svp.
Yaar JACK,
Why so emotional, it is just poetry. It flows. I didn’t imply you in any way there. When he says Tu shaheen hai, he means tu azaad hai. Free like an eagle. On the mountains
Btw though Iqbal was a philosopher, Ghalib was the best poet, and one need only read two lines of his to realize this:
Yeh masail e tasawwuf, yeh tera bayaan Ghalib
Tujhey hum wali samajhte, jo na baadakhwaar hota
How clearly you explicate the complications of Tasawwuf O Ghalib
We would have considered you a saint, had you not been inebriated
On Sher-o-Shaairee, I miss our friend Theossa , who had fine taste for Shaairee, Hunting and Games… Oh and also for “Tuna Sand-wich”.
BTW, is anyone following RBS T20 Cup in Pakistan? Actually, Geo TV is showing Live matches and the time suits me well, so I am enjoying the Pakistani version of IPL
Omer Admani,
“Of course the US lost at ice hockey. Any type of sport with anything “ice”-related, you can’t compete with the Canadians
”
I think you meant it as a backhanded praise for Canadians, but, that’s not true if anyone thinks you are serious. It’s true Ice Hockey is their game, and they won this time in speed skating and figure skating, but USA bagged the most medals, so in terms of maximum events where a country was competitive you got to give it to Americans. USA also won the maximum medals last summer Olympics even though host country China bagged most Gold, just like host country Canada won most Gold this time.
In terms of competitiveness, when it comes to the hard long distance cross country skiing no one is better than Scandinavians and Germans. Norway, Sweden, Finland were all so good at this. That is because they are brought in environments with ice and snow all around and it’s their favorite past time to go out and do cross country skiing
Afridi has already received his punishment for ball tampering. So why punish him again? Akmal has received no official sanction for his misconduct although he was dropped for the Dubai T20′s- which should have happened only on accounts of his poor keeping form anyway. So Akmal should receive some proper, proportionate sanction but I don’t understand why they are punishing Afridi again?
Afridi has been stripped off Karachi captaincy too in the current RBS T20 Cup and Mohammad Sami is leading Karachi Dolphins. There is a strong chance either Malik or Razzaq will lead Pakistan in the T20 World Cup.
Akmal and Afridi to face disciplinary action
Staff Report
LAHORE: Pakistan senior players Kamran Akmal and Shahid Afridi are likely to face some disciplinary action on the recommendations of an inquiry committee, formed by trhe Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), looking into the team’s poor performances in Australia. Sources in the board said Monday that the committee had completed its proceedings and it was preparing the final report and recommendations. “The committee will meet again on Tuesday (today) where they will approve the report after which the PCB chief operating officer, Wasim Bari who heads the committee, will submit it to the PCB chairman Ijaz Butt,” sources added. They said there would be no cover ups by the committee and there was strong likelihood the committee will recommend disciplinary action against Akmal and Afridi. While the match fixing allegations cloud hangs over Akmal who was also involved in violating the players code of conduct in Australia, Afridi could be penalised for his involvement in the infamous ball-tampering incident in the fifth and final one-dayer in Perth last month.
Meanwhile, Ijaz, also chaired a meeting of the new look Governing Council here yesterday but later talking to the media declined to give out any notable or new information. Asked about the match fixing allegations against Akmal and Rana Navedul Hasan, Ijaz insisted he had already made the issue clear and would not comment on it further. When asked about the central contracts to be given to the players, Ijaz said the mode of the contracts had been finalised and approved at the Governing Council meeting but announcement of the players who would be given the contracts would be made later. He also said that he would comment on the inquiry committee report when he gets it.
Javed Khan,
I agree with you on the fact that DAWN’s reporting standard has become horrible. It is also a fact that, there are double standards. On Afridi’s incidence, they had like 10 editorials puttin pressure on PCB. They have absolutely nothing on allegations against Naveed and Akmal fixing matches, being brushed aside by the board (just look at that second catch dropped by Akmal in the Sydney match again– someone pointed to me that catch and I saw it again, it has been clearly spilled on purpose!).
Generally, DAWN picks and chooses comments it wants to publish. It is also a fact that anything logically connected is not published and anything that praises the author is rewarded with a thank you letter by the author himself.
Apart from that fact they have got some lawyer kid writing over there who doesn’t understand ABC of cricket nor has any intellect, but keeps on writing as though he is in lalala land and keeps on praising Akmal. It is almost as if anyone who can write a few words in English is the next great intellectual of Pakistan. Persons capable of making judgments aren’t obviously there.
The only capable cricket writers in Pakistan are Osman Samiuddin and Saad Shafaqat (or so it seems).
Terrible reporting standard, the NEWS seems so much better now.
Omer
You are right about DAWN’s terrible rather pathetic standards and based on that as well as on the news that khansahab has posted here about Afridi and Akmal to face disciplinary action, I have written a new thread. And, this one is more of Tyson than Ali
Lets discuss it over there on that new thread. Thanks.