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Did Amir wrong cricket, or did cricket wrong Amir?
By Tabrez Janjua for Stani Army in General Cricket, International Cricket, Pakistan Cricket
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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
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December 15th, 2011 at 10:47 pm
@TJ
We should just stop mourning these guys. Rehabilitation was never a possibility as players who take money from the bookies can never say no to them or turn against them because they get blackmailed for the rest of their lives.
I completely agree with you ACSU has been a complete failure but we the Pakistanis should thank News of the world for its sting operation as if that operation had not happened even with Aamer and Asif we would still be losing matches left and right due to corruption.
This winning streak is temporary and some of the biggest crooks are still in the team, I don’t think that the menace has been completely uprooted.
December 15th, 2011 at 10:57 pm
Afridi says fixing is not his cup of tea. LOL
“Majeed wanted to talk to me but I had heard rumours about this guy, I didn’t talk to him,” Afridi told Daily Telegraph Wednesday upon arriving in Melbourne for the Big Bash, Australia’s new Twenty/20 cricket competition starting this week.
“My God has given me everything, my father worked hard so I could have everything, why would I need to do these things?”
Afridi said he never suspected that his former teammates could be involved in fixing and added that nobody has ever asked him to fix results.”
He knew Majeed was a suspicious character or in other words a bookie and wasn’t worthy of talking too but let him hangout with his key players and never blew the whistle.
By giving borderline results he thinks he has proven himself to be clean he could have never been appointed the captain if he was not in it with the management.
December 16th, 2011 at 12:03 pm
Am I missing something here…
Amir pleaded guilty, he has therefore admitted his gulit to the charges that were laid out!
Your whole article seem’s somewhat pointless..
December 16th, 2011 at 4:47 pm
Wasim,
I think it’s possible for Amir to come good, certainly. Butt and Asif seem to be made of different stuff. Regarding blackmailing…I think any bookies would be stupid to go anywhere near Amir again – they will avoid him like the plague.
I agree with your point about the NOTW sting, my point was it should never have even got to that stage. It was the failings of many that allowed it to progress that far.
I personally think all the questionable characters have been removed..the likes of Wahab and Kamran Akmal. Who is it you do not trust? Afridi?
Were there not rumours of Butt and his cohorts being against Afridi because he was deemed to be incorruptible ie would not get involved with fixing?
December 16th, 2011 at 4:48 pm
Rizwan,
What is the point you are making? Things not only seem to be missing from what you’ve read, but from what you write, also.
December 16th, 2011 at 7:31 pm
TJ
Malik, Imran Farhat, Misbah, and U akmal are still in the team and they are desperately trying to get Wahab back.
As regards Afridi and Umar Gul they do not need to join any group.
Mazhar Majeed only said Afridi was hard to please he never said he couldnt be bought, the war between Waqar and Afridi and the way things went after world cup indicate that it wasn’t just those three players who were corrupt.
If you look in the past you will find there are always multiple groups working in the team always trying to pull each others leg, so just because Butt was leading a small group of players never meant that the rest were Angles if anybody needs any evidence they should watch those spectacular collapses again.
The current stability in performance is only because of a couple of reasons, first the players are extremely scared and are trying to re earn the lost reputation, secondly Ejaz butt is gone, thirdly I think the 2 year window which was fixed by the administration has elapsed( As per Asif’s Ex Girl friend).
December 16th, 2011 at 7:40 pm
TJ
There was a time we used to blame Akhtar for putting a bad influence on Asif and now we are blaming Asif and Butt for putting a bad influence on Amir and Wahab.
In my humble opinion these players knew exactly what was at stake and sold their souls willfully. I don’t see any point in even attempting a rehabilitation, once a crook is always a crook the only utility they have left is to remain as an example for the rest.
We should have a very uncompromising attitude toward these issues there should be no flexibility.