Mohammad Amir - A young man that needs to get back on the straight and narrow

Almost two months into their sentences, there’s been much debate about whether Mr Justice Cooke got the sentences right for Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir. Yet certainly in Amir’s case, this isn’t about the length of sentence or the punishment itself, even.

If his sentence does not reform him, then Amir may have been a corrupt cheater, but the failings against him would have been far worse – and that’s without considering how such a young, talented man was failed before the spot-fixing scandal broke.

Justice should not be just about punishment. Real justice should have an element of rehabilitation to it. It’s not only about the punishment, but more importantly, it’s about the lesson. Will the custodial sentences handed out to Butt, Asif and Amir teach them that what they did was wrong? In Butt and Asif’s case, I’m not really bothered, but Mohammed Amir will have many years ahead of him in cricket, and his sentence would have needed to act as education to him too.

In an interview with Sky Sports News a while ago, Michael Atherton spoke about how Amir should be given a second chance and welcomed back into cricket after he has served his sentence and ICC ban. I would be inclined to agree with that, but Amir would have to have fundamentally changed as a person by then.

Throughout the scandal, up until the court case, Amir along with Butt and Asif has been pleading his innocence despite all the evidence against him. Even now, we still hear interviews from the families of all three men, saying how their sons are innocent and haven’t done anything wrong. How can this be? What do the players themselves think about what they have done and what have they been telling their families?

For me, this is a social issue, linked to the blasé attitude towards corruption and the prevalent moral turpitude that exists amongst many in Pakistan society. In a country where a man wanted by Interpol is elected president, a deliberate no-ball in a cricket match is just a no-ball – it is insignificant. Despite Amir and Asif’s guilty pleas and Butt’s punishment, I wouldn’t be surprised if the three still believed that they’ve hardly done anything wrong.

It’s a mentality that is very easy to criticise, but very difficult to understand for those that have grown up here and in other more developed countries. Take for instance the fact that faith is important to many of the Pakistani players, yet even in that infamous Test match where he was cheating, we saw Amir do the sajda (prostration) upon getting a wicket. So as a God-fearing person, did he really think he was doing something so wrong by bowling a no-ball? It appears he didn’t.

So can we, looking on from our ivory towers over here in our developed West really pass judgement? Is it fair to apply our rules and judge them by our laws and form opinion from what we would consider acceptable living in the society we live? Certainly if we applied the two allegations that were applied to the players against many in that country, then we’d have a problem on our hands. Yet that is a failure of the leaders who have for decades failed to serve the interest of the man on the street. So just like the people have been failed by the powers that be in Pakistan, was Amir not also failed by the PCB and the ICC?

Unlicensed agents buzzing around impressionable young stars is something the Pakistan board should have been very wary of since the Justice Qayyum report over a decade ago. Yet it was allowed to happen freely. The ICC was spending millions on its ACSU unit yet it took an English tabloid and a relatively simple sting to uncover the biggest scandal in cricket.

If Amir comes out of Feltom and returns from his ban still thinking that what he did was ‘just a no-ball’, then the British justice system, along with the PCB and ICC, would have also failed Mohammad Amir.

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Tabrez Ali Janjua also writes at www.khelopakistan.com

Both Butt and Asif were found guilty by a unanimous verdict in regards to the charge of conspiracy to cheat, and by a 10-2 majority verdict in regards to the charge of conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments.

The three players now await sentencing

Conspiracy to cheat carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison and/or an unlimited fine. Conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments carries the heavier sentence of up to seven years in prison and/or an unlimited fine.

The judge will now consider the verdict before the sentences will be pronounced later this week. In the mean time, both players remain on bail.

It has also emerged that Mohammed Amir had pleaded guilty to the charges on September the 16th, yet the news was not allowed to be reported due to court restrictions in place that would prevent the verdict of jurors from being unfairly influenced in regards to Butt and Asif.

At the time, Amir’s barrister Ben Emmerson QC said “Amir wants to make it clear he wants to take full responsibility for what he did by bowling two deliberate no-balls. This vulnerable 18-year-old boy, as he was then, was subjected to extreme pressure from those upon whom he should have been able to rely. He recognises the damage he has caused Pakistan cricket and he wishes to do his best to put that right”

By making Amir out to be the “vulnerable 18-year-old boy”, Amir’s legal team is hoping that he will receive a lighter sentence. Yet the prosecution presented a number of key bits of evidence that could be interpreted as Amir being everything but the innocent and vulnerable boy his team is trying to present him as.

Key to the prosecution’s evidence is a number of text messages Amir had sent to some unknown numbers and also to Azher Majeed, brother of the agent at the center of the scandal, Mazhar Majeed. One text message read: “Amir here, don’t call my phone, ICC-police have taken my phone, are you able to delete those calls you made to me? If you can do it okay, don’t reply”.

Whilst Pakistan fans were hoping for some clemency to be shown to Amir, evidence of his involvement in what went on has cast doubt over whether any leniency will be shown by the judge towards him. Of course, the one thing in his favour is that he did plead guilty, thus it is probably a given that he will receive a lighter sentence than Butt and Asif who have throughout the case maintained their innocence despite the overwhelming evidence against them. The best Amir can probably hope for is a heavy fine, but we will find out later this week how much lighter his sentence is than the one Butt and Asif are to receive.

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Tabrez Ali Janjua also writes at www.khelopakistan.com

Likely custodial sentences will come as a shock to the players

The jury in the spot fixing case has currently retired to consider its verdict, leaving many Pakistan fans wondering about the nature of any possible sentence should Salman Butt and Mohammed Asif be found guilty.

The two players in court are facing charges of conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments and conspiracy to cheat. Mohammed Amir and agent Mazhar Majeed had themselves earlier this year pleaded guilty to the charges.

Obtaining and accepting corrupt payments is an offence contrary to section 1 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906. It carries a maximum sentence of seven years imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine. Cheating is an offence contrary to section 42 of the Gambling Act 2005. It carries a maximum sentence of two years’ imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine.

The maximum sentence for the above two offences does not only apply to the offence itself, but also to the conspiracy to commit such an offence, as is alleged in the case of Butt and Asif. So which kind of sentence are the players likely to receive?

The first thing we would have to consider is whether the duo is likely to be found guilty of the alleged offences. Personally, I feel that the writing is on the wall for a number of reasons. The ICC has already found them guilty of spot fixing and handed out their punishments. Though far from a legal court, their investigations must have had some proof to go on for them to hand out such long term bans.

Then there is the fact that both Amir and Majeed have admitted to spot fixing i.e. basically admitting that a crime had taken place. Their confession therefore implies that Butt and Asif would have been involved to some degree. Before sending the jury out to deliberate, Justice Cooke’s direction to aid the jury in their decision making was: “You can proceed on the basis that Majeed and Amir were involved in the spot-fixing at Lord’s, as all parties agree that is the case”.

Finally, there is the fact that neither Butt nor Asif stuck to the same story. They were seen to turn on one another through their lawyers a number of times during the case, undermining one another’s story. In fact, these denials and counter claims regarding one another’s stories points to an inherent distrust, suspicion and treachery among the two – common attributes of wrongdoers. As the old saying goes, ‘there’s no honour among thieves’.

So, the likelihood is that they will both be found guilty on at least one or both the charges. The one thing Asif has going for him in regards to the offence of conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments is that none of the money handed over to Majeed by the News of the World reporter was found with Asif. Even then, Asif is looking at a maximum prison sentence of two years if found guilty of the offence of cheating.

Due to the seriousness of the charges and the huge sums of money involved, expect Mr Justice Cooke to hand down a custodial sentence to both Butt and Asif, should they be found guilty. It will send a tremor across the cricketing world, but maybe some time in prison is exactly what is required, with all three of the players demonstrating a nonchalant and dismissive attitude to authority and the seriousness of the alleged crimes since the scandal broke. It’d give them plenty of time to think about their actions and the people they have allegedly cheated.

With a prison sentence likely, we must now await the jury’s verdict and then sentencing from the judge to be sure. Due to the complexities of the case and the bundles of evidence to consider, it should be said that the jury’s deliberation could well run into next week. If that is the case, the judge, Mr Justice Cooke, may well accept a majority verdict rather than the unanimous one he had initially asked for.

Tabrez Ali Janjua also writes at www.khelopakistan.com

Shoaib Akhtar - The ultimate fast bowler

Today came the much expected announcement that Shoaib Akhtar would be retiring from cricket at the end of the World Cup. Before the tournament in the sub-continent, we mentioned on Stani Army that should Shoaib play any significant role in Pakistan’s campaign, it may lead him to decide to call it a day and go out of the game on a relative high. Today Shoaib took the step and made the emotional announcement to a packed media room.

Whilst it would be easy to concentrate on Shaoib’s run-ins with the law, it would be unfair to do so at this moment. Since early 2010, you could see a contriteness and maturity come over him, but sadly, it had only now come when his body was gone. Despite all his misdemeanors, he still provided cricket fans with box office entertainment and brought undescribable joy to millions of Pakistan fans. When he played, he was the envy of every supporter of every opposition team Pakistan faced, yet at the same time, was respected by these same opposition supporters for his unrivalled brilliance.

Not only did he have exceptional pace, but he also exhibited cricketing intelligence that made him stand out from the other out-and-out fast bowlers of his era. Like the design of the modern sports car, even when standing still Shoaib looked fast. With a long and aggressive run up, the Rawalpindi express charging in at full pelt was a sight to behold, as he made the best batsmen in the world look like tail-enders. Cricket is generally known to be a batsmen’s game, yet when Shoaib was bowling, it was a bowlers game.

Two of his most memorable feats were his bowled dismissals of India’s Rahul Dravid and the great Sachin Tendulkar in successive deliveries, and his record of the fastest ball ever bowled.

The two deliveries to Dravid and Tendulkar came in a Test match at a packed Eden Gardens in 1999. Here is the footage, as first Dravid’s stumps are shattered, and then Tendulkar walks in to have his middle stump uprooted to pin drop silence. It was the first time Akhtar had ever bowled to Tendulkar, and he sent the master on his way with a golden duck. Watch the footage, listen to the commentary, and feel the joy in Akhtar’s reaction and cry. Many Pakistan fans would say that had he achieved nothing else in the remainder of his career, that in itself would have been enough.

The second of the two balls that silenced 100,000 Indian spectators at Eden garden, 1999

The second memorable moment was when he bowled the fastest delivery ever recorded, to England’s Nick Knight, in a World Cup game in 2002. Clocked at 100.2 mph (161.3kmph), he beat his previous questioned record of 100 mph (161 kmph), to settle the debate once and for all. No doubt it also provided the highlight to Knight’s ordinary international career, as he will be telling his grandchildren for time to come, that he faced the fastest ball ever bowled and survived, not only walking away with his wicket, but also with his body fully intact. Even at this tournament, with fast bowlers like Shaun Tait, Brett Lee, Lasith Malinga and Kemar Roach on show, it is Shoaib who has managed to steal the show by bowling the fastest ball of the current World Cup in the match against Sri Lanka, recorded at 98 mph (159 kmph).

For what he brought to the game, you could debate whether or not Shoaib can be considered a great. But in my view, had he stayed on the straight and narrow, there would be no argument about not just whether he was great, but whether or not he was the greatest fast bowler to have ever lived. But still, even if his statistics (which are pretty good) and his achievements may not show it, to every Pakistan fan he is a great, and someone that cricket should still celebrate. Shoaib brought a lot to the game and fast bowling will never be spoken about without the mention of his name.

The irony is that Shoaib’s announcement comes on the same day as we saw another potentially unfulfilled Pakistani talent – the man ready made to step into Akhtar’s shoes – Mohammed Amir, in court here in London, over match-fixing allegations. Yet let’s concentrate on the positives of this announcement. What a boost for Pakistan’s World Cup hopes. If Shoaib and his team mates ever needed another reason to go all the way, Shoaib has just provided it.

Some quotes from Shoaib’s press conference:

“I’m focusing on the match against Australia. If I don’t play I will make sure every guy gets my help and if nothing else then I will carry water onto the field.”

“The first day, when I got announced for Pakistan, I did not believe that someone like me could play for this greatest team ever,”

“The best moment was when I got the first kit for my first Test and I had a huge star on my chest. I wore that kit and I slept in it and I couldn’t believe I would wake up in it. I did not take it off for three days.”

The best batsman he bowled against?

“I wouldn’t say I enjoyed bowling against them but they are my very top of the favourites. Inzamam is there. I loved bowling against [Adam] Gilchrist, I loved to hate him but he was very tough. Ricky Ponting was another great. This guy not only played, but he won matches, he had so much ability. I really wish to see him play for another few years for Australia. Then my favourite, Brian Lara, who was so elegant I lost myself in his elegance. I only bowled three balls to him, and they were my favourite three balls, but I felt very sad when I hit him and he had to leave the ground. But these are the players I really, really enjoyed bowling against. I wish I could, but it’s my good luck that I never bowled to that guy Viv Richards. That is my good luck.”

The offending tweet on Premachandran's twitter page, was carried on the Cricinfo site via their 'World Cup on Twitter' feed

For some reason, the Indian writers on Cricinfo have a strange fascination with Pakistan cricket. In the past it’s been the likes of Sidarth Monga and Samit Chopra, and this time it was Dileep Premachandran on his twitter feed. Premachandran writes for Cricinfo and should be well aware of his position. He also knows full well that his comments are going onto the main site so the excuse that it’s his personal twitter page doesn’t quite wash.

Not very professional for the largest cricket website out there to be publishing personal insults directed at players by their writers.

Andrew Strauss sullies the game but it's acceptable

Cricket has always seemed to take the moral high-ground when it comes to sports related problems such racism and hooliganism we see in football, or the continued battle athletics has with drugs use. But there is no other sport where cheating is so blatantly accepted as just a part of the game. We saw the hue and cry over the recent spot fixing allegations against the Pakistan player where law makers, supporters and players of various nations acting as if they had been truly hurt, but where are these voices when something like this happens? I deplore match-fixing, let me make that clear, but I deplore this form of cheating too. Whilst people may argue there is no comparison between the no-balls Amir and Asif bowled, I will simply ask them which act influenced the result of the game? Was it those no-balls or Strauss’ failure to walk when he was on 38 and went on to make a match winning 126. Who is the bigger cheat?

I rate Andrew Strauss; he is an excellent batsman and a good captain. What I admire about him most though is the intelligent and thoughtful manner in which he speaks even when ungracious coach Andy Flower does the opposite. Unfortunately, when Strauss doesn’t walk he badly lets himself down. Now this is not the first time Strauss has been involved with something like this. In the Test series that has just finished, Strauss stood his ground on two separate occasions after Pakistan’s appeals had been declined by the umpire but then reviewed on request. Now Strauss knew he was out, he knew the review would show he was out, but he still stood his ground. Even if I had edged behind for example and been given not out but had still stayed at the crease, once the bowling team had asked for a review I would walk even before the third umpire’s decision because it would be embarrassing not to do so. Strauss unfortunately did not, on two separate occasions. A man’s character, his reputation, is far more important than what he achieves in a game Andrew. Of course, Strauss is not the only one in cricket who is guilty of this, but when such a nice gentleman can repeatedly do it without obvious regret, it gives you an idea of how acceptable it is in the game.

Not only is this cheating not discouraged in cricket, it is well rewarded and and thus, encouraged. Strauss was presented with the man of the match award for his match winning century, a century he had no shame in celebrating when he brought it up in the 34th over of the game, even though he was out much earlier. Had I cheated my way to a milestone, I wouldn’t have celebrated as Strauss did, but of course, I wouldn’t have been there in the first place as I would have walked off when I was out.

But maybe that is just a reflection of the way of the world. If you do bad, cheat, take short cuts and are selfish, you get rewarded, but if you’re a good doer you get shunned and sidelined, like Rashid Latif for example who has recently been forced to resign after he revealed how Pakistan’s cricketers meddled in match-fixing in the past.

So while the law makers, players and supporters of different nations put up this act of being appalled by the recent spot-fixing allegations, let them remember their contribution too, to the cheating that goes on in this game. Neither are you or your game that innocent after all. In his book What Price the Moral High Ground, author Robert Frank challenges the notion that success is achieved only at the expense of doing good, and cricket, the gentleman’s game, can do far worse than to challenge this notion too and get rid of this accepted disease that pervades the game.

Aamer turns away as Ponting puts out his elbow

The media release on the ICC website it states: “this was the second time in two matches that Aamer had made physical contact with a batsman”, which is absolutely incorrect. It is quite clear that Ponting made physical contact with Aamer on this occasion and not the other way around, so to suggest otherwise you would either have to be blind or deliberately biased. Apart from that clear injustice, there was no mention of Broad having a word with Ponting who was let off for elbowing an opponent on the cricket field. The Pakistanis will obviously not do anything about it because of their inferiority complex, and will continue being too bloody nice for their own good. Even a simple statement from Captain Shahid Afridi telling Ponting to act his age would suffice and would show him that he is not a law unto himself.

Broad went on to say: “there are a few things [Aamer] still has to learn in relation to how to conduct himself on the field of play”, this coming from  a man whose son, Stuart Broad, has the biggest attitude problem in cricket, consistently showing disgust towards the umpires. Go have a word with him Chris.

And people wonder why John Howard’s candidature for the ICC vice-presidency wasn’t accepted by the Asian bloc?

Lalit and his girls: The 'best' thing to happen to cricket since....football

they reach the final. But what if they do reach the final? Some would say that this is a big ‘what if’ but they’d be ignoring the recent big ‘what if’ which prevented Pakistan’s players from playing in IPLIII.

The reason given was that the franchises could not be certain of the availability of the Pakistani players. So what do they exactly mean by that? Well, the Pakistani players would have been free from international duty in that period so this cannot have been what was meant. May be the reason is the fear that half way through the tournament, something happens in one of the two countries which would strain diplomatic relationships and heighten civil tension, causing Pakistan to call back its players for fear of attack in India. A big ‘what if’ in my opinion.

The most tasteless part of this IPL snub was that the Pakistani players were given false hope and led along until the very last minute, literally. Why did the eight franchises request the eleven Pakistani players up for selection if their policy was not to pick players that were not certain of availability? Well it is clear that something happened inbetween the period that these players were requested by the franchises and the time of the auction, and this is the sinister side to this whole situation.

With the franchises towing the same ‘non-availability’ line, it was obvious that the advice they received must of come from one source in that it was the same across the board. Clearly, all the franchises were in cahoots with one another and it was a collective and pre-planned shunning of the Pakistani players, even though this is being denied. If you are not convinced, are you telling me not one of the franchises would have been tempted by even a single bid for Afridi, Rana, Aamer or Akmal? Instead, when the names of these World Champions were read out at auction, there was complete silence in the room. It was so quiet that you could almost hear the little synaptic kerchings in Lalit Modi’s brain. It would be interesting to find out who it was that advised the franchises to make this change in policy and take this stance after they had no problem in requesting the players for auction initially.

Would the Indian crowds have turned on Pakistan's players?

When Pakistan’s players did not take part in IPLII, the argument from many IPL supporters was that it was the Pakistan government that banned the players from playing so the IPL was helpless. We argued then that even if our government had allowed the players to travel, they would have been stopped from playing somehow and that the Pakistan government merely made the decision easier for Lalit Modi. From what has happened this time around, it is clear that our belief was true.

The fact of the matter is, as soon as the time to organise IPLIII came around, those in the corridors of power began to think of ways in which to prevent Pakistan players from playing for whatever reason. The morally right thing to do would have been to begin to find ways of including them but morality isn’t something Lalit Modi will be known for I’m afraid. They waited until the end, hoping that Pakistan would prevent its players from travelling just like in IPLII, and making the decision easier for Modi and his cronies. But this time, both the PCB and the Pakistan government allowed the players to travel AND the franchises requested eleven of them to go under the hammer. As a result, something had to be done to stop them at auction and it quite clearly was.

I couldn’t care less if our players did not participate in that tournament and I certainly would not have minded had they been asked in good time, not to apply. But the immoral and degrading manner in which they were snubbed shows no class at all.

So, will the powers that be apply the same logic in the World Cup? Maybe they’ll do what they did here and leave it to the last minute hoping that Pakistan don’t make the final. But if we do make it to the final, the outcome of whether we are allowed to play will truly show us who governs world cricket.

…and don’t hesitate to leave me any Eid money or presents.

No, not Shoaib but Usain Bolt. Here’s a quote from the great man:

“When I was really small, I loved the Pakistan cricket team. Waqar Younis was one of the greatest bowlers ever, and I was a bowler so I really enjoyed watching him. I was a big fan until I got older, when I noticed that I should actually support my home team…when I was little, it was all about Pakistan.”

Now there’s a man who knows what he’s talking about!  Legend.

Bolt was a bowler! Could you imagine him bowling today? A man whose run-up was as fast as his deliveries, and that’s no insult to his deliveries.

You can hear what he had to say here.