54
Kaneria In Match Fixing Scandal?
By Tabrez Janjua for Stani Army in County Cricket, Pakistan Cricket
136 ViewsReports emanating from England suggest that Danish Kaneria may well be one of the two players from the county club Essex involved in a match fixing scandal. Though no names have officially come out, one newspaper reported that Kaneria, along with a lesser known member of the county club, were involved in fixing last summer.
The allegations first surfaced last month but the club was not able to comment due to an on-going Police investigation which is yet to be completed. The interesting thing was that Kaneria did not meet up with his club Essex for the start of the County Championship as it was said he was taking part in a domestic tournament in Pakistan. This raises suspicion even more that he is one of the players involved as it likely Kaneria would have chosen to come over to England and play for his county rather than take part in domestic games in Pakistan.
If it is the case that Kaneria is involved, the PCB should come down on him hard. Taking into account the recent punishments handed out to the other Pakistan players; I think the PCB will do just that. Once again, another Pakistan player has brought shame on his nation. Engaging in this kind of thing at home is bad enough but to do it having been invited to play in another country would be an absolute disgraceful act.
Let’s hope that it was all misunderstanding although the early signs do not look good.
Loading ...
April 10th, 2010 at 7:26 pm
Another controversy involving a Pakistani player. The drama continues. It is a totally disgraceful action, but I am still hopeful that he doesn’t have any involvement as he rubbished the allegations when interacting with some media according to something I’ve read recently.
I was expecting big things from Pakistan in England this summer and on the very first day of the season we are in the news for the wrong doings.
April 10th, 2010 at 7:42 pm
Stani, although you have said that because he didn’t come to make an early start and instead was playing domestic in Pakistan has raised the suspicion bar , I disagree. He voiced some keenness to return to the county over the winter although he said it was ultimately up to the PCB on whether they will give him the permission due to international duties later in the summer.
In addition, no other Pakistanis are making an early start and several of them have signed to play county cricket this year so perhaps the PCB prioritised the domestic tournament which is due to start.
Anyhow, it’s still early days in this affair and on a seperate note good to see Rana returning to Sussex
April 10th, 2010 at 7:47 pm
Maz
What’s worse is that we will be playing some ‘home’ games over here and the fact that the ECB’s Giles Clarke is the head of the ICC task force who will be trying to aid Pakistan in lessening the financial impact of no home Test matches. Doesn’t look good.
April 10th, 2010 at 7:49 pm
Maz
I hope you’re right but it does look as though Essex have basically asked him to stay at home until the investigation is complete. He’s done quite well for them and I’m sure he enjoys playing here.
April 10th, 2010 at 8:12 pm
His interview at the end of last season
http://www.essexcricket.org.uk/pages/essextv.php
Fairly good/fluent English!
April 10th, 2010 at 8:17 pm
Giles Clarke speaks urdu btw
Yes your bang on right TJ, that it creates a bad impression considering that he is trying to do something and help Pakistan cricket financially.
April 10th, 2010 at 9:01 pm
Maz
Yes, impressive grasp of English. Where did you hear Clarke?
I do hope he is not involved, it’s just embarrassing. Just imagine how the Essex players will feel if it’s true? They will think we trusted this guy as our team mate.
April 10th, 2010 at 9:23 pm
Oh this is not a “match irregularity”. I think I know what was going on! It’s about some declaration when Essex were purposely trying to get the opposition to declare by bowling poorly so they had a chance to push for promotion which they got. That happens a lot in County Cricket. I wouldn’t find it disturbing if the level allegations are mean’t on these basis though, that’s cricket and determination if anything.
As far as Giles Clarke’s linguistic capabilities are concerned I read it somewhere which I’ll come back to you on. Oh yes I remember! Mr Abbasi’s blog!
April 10th, 2010 at 9:42 pm
Stani/Maz
I wouldn’t be surprised if he is found guilty. He was one of the main culprits in Sydney test bowling full toss after full toss giving away free runs to the Aussies.
But so far he has rubbished the claims made by English media, by staying home I don’t think he will be able to avoid the investigation as he is scheduled to play for Essex after one month, sooner or later he will have to face the investigation.
There will be no break for Pakistan from such controversies, until PCB administration stop taking half hearted disciplinary measures.
The recent steps taken by them were appropriate but a few players got a lot less punishment than what they truly deserved.
Maz
Other than yourself who do you think will be the successor to Danish in Pakistan. I know Mansoor Amjad is one, but are there anyother good wrist legspinners in Pakistan?
April 10th, 2010 at 9:46 pm
Maz
If thats the case then that can’t be deemed as “Match fixing” a more appropriate term would be negative cricket.
The media specifically referred to “betting” and match fixing.
April 11th, 2010 at 9:50 am
Wasim, there is Usman Qadir but there is no doubt he is partly a “sifarshi” and gets over hyped unnecessarily although he is good as well and his junior records are impressive. He gets extra attention because of his father’s image. He was in the training camp for some reason and many people are raising eyebrows that he didn’t deserve to be there.
But this guy is better than him- Shahzaib Ahmed Khan from Karachi.
http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/181/181056.html
He was in the U19 squad for the WC but didn’t many chances to play. Above is the link for a game in which he took 16 wickets. 7-63 and 9-52!
But above all, although he not a wrist spinner, Raza Hasan has the biggest potential as an upcoming spinner for Pakistan. Watch out for him!
And that is not “match fixing” Wasim. It happens all the time in County games.
April 11th, 2010 at 9:57 am
Wasim, why do you think there was “match fixing” in the SCG test where Pakistan lost unexpectedly? It was a combination of poor cricket from the visitors and heroical stuff from the Aussies.
The only possible thing that makes me suspicious was the negative field which enabled Australia to easily get back in the game!
April 11th, 2010 at 10:05 am
I can understand where your coming from as batsmen gave their wickets away carelessly too, but you have no proof and are just assuming based on the action that you saw.
But at least we don’t think that Kami purposely dropped catches of Danish due to him being Hindu like some people we know aka Arshad Khan’s cronies!
April 11th, 2010 at 11:45 am
Maz/Wasim
I think it was a combination of things which made it fall into the category of match fixing…or spot fixing to be more precise. If a team plays negative cricket to achieve a preferred result for themselves then that is up to them. But, if they somehow come to an agreement with another team so as to exchange favours, then this would fall into the match fixing category. Also, if a player from that team then bets on this (gets someone to bet or provides them this information), then that player is also match-fixing. I think what occurred here may have been somewhere along those lines.
Kaneria’s performance in Australia was very poor at times but I was not surprised for one. Yes he has a lot of wickets, but he bowls a hell of a lot of overs. People say he is under-rated but I don’t think he is.
April 11th, 2010 at 1:04 pm
Stani:”Kaneria’s performance in Australia was very poor at times but I was not surprised for one. Yes he has a lot of wickets, but he bowls a hell of a lot of overs. People say he is under-rated but I don’t think he is.”
Totally agree
April 12th, 2010 at 11:45 pm
Stani
When a bowler of his class keeps on bowling no balls, wides, full tosses, down the leg side and that too all of a sudden that is suspicious for me because form doesn’t change in a few a hours.
The timing of the poor performance during a particular match, the tactics employed, the deviation of performance from normal standards these are the factors which I consider before making a judgement about any player.
April 13th, 2010 at 12:40 pm
Maz/Wasim
To be honest, I don’t really rate him that high. I did hope he may change with the new skinnier version of himself but on the Australian tour he just showed us the same old garbage. I think sometimes, cricketers who are genuinely not good in the field, eventually begin to show their limitations in their specialised role also. I think this is the case with Danish.
Of course, this does not mean I am saying he does not engage in match fixing. I am just saying that sometimes he genuinely is rubbish.
By the way; are you guys clear on who has jurisdiction if the allegations against Danish are proven? I know Essex can sack him but what then? PCB will probably punish him but do the ICC and the ECB have some say here?
April 13th, 2010 at 2:17 pm
TJ, firstly I completely agree that he can be genuinely rubbish as times. His in-ability to win matches and lacking of patience as a bowler make him a “mediocre” player. Statistically, he is up there with the best but that is totally meaningless when those wickets haven’t come in winnings circumstances more often than not. They usually come in vain situations and whenever he does perform it takes him a marathon spell, therefore those stats are deceptive, but then again you do get the odd flash of brilliance from him which can be great to watch!
However, these allegations sound baseless now considering the honesty of a player like Kaneria and his shocked reactions towards the situation at hand. I begin to ask the question why they keep link Pakistani players with match-fixing and controversies. The world can be a biased place.
April 13th, 2010 at 2:34 pm
I am also questioning the fact of how long more Pakistan perseveres with Kaneria. He is not winning matches and improving our winning ratio by any means of the imagination. He has been around for long enough now and is it time to move on?
I personally believe Shahid Afridi is a more accomplished bowler than him and would be a better choice in test cricket to complement Pakistan’s main strength of pace bowling!
Kaneria’s position has to come under the spotlight like others i.e. openers as well!
Although many also sympathise with Kaneria and say that his career has been halted by the continuous slacking of Kamran Akmal as a WK. His flaws have proved critically costly over the last couple of years, undoubtedly.
April 13th, 2010 at 7:15 pm
Stani
I don’t think ICC has any jurisdiction but PCB will be bound to punish him according to their own code of conduct according to which he will get a five match ban and 0.5 – 2 million fine.
April 13th, 2010 at 11:48 pm
Maz
Interesting you say that. There were two players involved but Kaneria’s name was leaked and the other player’s was not. Of course, had he been Pakistani it would have been.
Wasim
Five match ban? Seems a bit low for such a serious offence don’t you think? Is there a precedent?
April 14th, 2010 at 1:54 am
Stani
You raised an interesting point, why they didn’t leaked the name of the other player.
It’s not just five match ban there is also a fine of upto 2 million these fines have been incorporated into new rules of PCB’s code of conduct.
April 14th, 2010 at 10:09 am
Here we go again!
This is not the first time Essex have been the subject of a match fixing probe, back in 1994 Don Topley, a former Essex seam bowler, prompted an inquiry after claiming that matches against Lancashire near the end of the 1991 season had been fixed.
Topley alleged that Lancashire had agreed to bowl badly in their three-day fixture with Essex in exchange for the favour being returned in a Sunday League fixture.
At the time there was no evidence to support his claim, however since the closure of the equiry two former team mates have supported his claim.
It is interesing to note the Essex overseas player at the time was one Salim Malik (although nobody has ever implicated him in the “fixing” of these games).
There is a very interesting article in the Pakistan Tribune:
http://paktribune.com/news/index.shtml?226380
If these allegation are true it will be a tragedy for the sport and Kaneria. I have seen Kaneria bowl many times for Essex and it will be sad if such a promising career is cut short in such a crazy manner.
Why do they never learn?
PS TJ, the name of the other player has been leaked clearly Kaneria will get the media attention, as he is the “star” in this.
April 14th, 2010 at 11:19 pm
Wasim (Cricketfiles)
So the new code of conduct stipulates a five match ban for match fixing? Seems a bit light, what you think?
Cricket Bats
)
Thanks for the link. I think this playing for a certain result, or ‘negative cricket’ as Wasim called it, is something that is widespread in the County game as I am sure you are aware. This is a thin line the clubs are running and it leaves the door open for players whose heads are turned easily by the betting world. If I was a dodgy character and knew my teams was about to block all day or bowl rubbish then I could easily get someone to put a bet on. (I’m not by the way
Agreed, Kaneria has been doing more than well for Essex. If it is proved, it will just demonstrate his stupidity.
Who was the other player by the way?
April 15th, 2010 at 2:26 pm
Yasir Arafat has been ruled out of the ICC T20 WC 2010
My replacement would be Shahzaib Hassan Khan or Mohammad Sami any day, the Karachi lads!
A big nooooooo to recalling the Pindi Express plz, too old and too slow nowdays and he will get hit out of the park in the T20 format too!!
Stani
The other player hasn’t been announced for some reason, but is said to be a lesser player who is very much unknown as of yet!
April 15th, 2010 at 3:37 pm
TJ
The other player has been named by the Daily Mail as Mervyn Westfield
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/cricket/article-1265249/Were-fix-But-Danish-Kaneria-Mervyn-Westfield-deny-wrongdoing.html
Not a regular in the Essex XI.
http://cricketarchive.com/Players/78/78936/78936.html
April 16th, 2010 at 1:51 pm
Maz
To be honest, I don’t think Arafat would have been used much. Will be interesting to see who they bring in because Arafat is an all-rounder but the names mentioned as replacements, Sami and Shahzaib, are not.
Stop this Karachi Pindi business!
Cricket Bats
Thanks for the links. It’s interesting that The Sun newspaper, who first named Kaneria, didn’t go as far as naming Westfield. I’m sure they must have known about Westfield if they knew about Kaneria. All they said was “The other player – a lower-profile member of the staff who is not featuring in the opening championship match against Hampshire – will almost certainly be released if found guilty.”
I don’t want to start another controversy but Kaneria looks like he’s blatantly tampering the ball in that picture The Sun have with the article
Also, I noticed you have changed the name of your shop, how would you like us to have it in our links section; as ‘Cricket Store’ which we currently have or ‘Storm Cricket’?
April 16th, 2010 at 2:06 pm
He once said he was not getting a fair chance in the Pak team. The selectors were right not to ‘gamble’ on him.
Sorry!
April 16th, 2010 at 2:31 pm
Spin Dr
you need to ‘fix’ up sharp.
That was terrible
April 16th, 2010 at 4:06 pm
TJ
It’s ‘odds on’ certainty that the selectors will take a ‘flutter on’ him again…however I think they should ‘hedge their bets’ elsewhere!
April 16th, 2010 at 8:30 pm
Spin Dr
Yes, he does seem to be a ‘favourite’ of the selectors but I cannot see why they keep thinking they’re ‘onto a winner’.
April 17th, 2010 at 4:45 pm
Stani/ Spin Doctor
He has won us many matches, since last few years we are only playing with two wicket taking bowlers in test matches and that has been the main problem, other than Asif and Kaneria we don’t have any other wicket taking bowlers. Umar Gul and even Aamer take just one or two wickets per innings. There is no other spinner in the country who could match Kaneria’s skill level.
He is not the greatest but he is better than many other spinners who are playing at international level the only problem is that our captains don’t know how to use him, we don’t have a good keeper, the team never goes in test matches with a plan keeping in view the oppostions weaknesses, we just let him bowl too many overs hoping that he will eventually take four five wickets in an innings.
Look how Ponting used Nathan Hauritz he is a below par bowler but became extremely effective just because of his captains now imagine Hauritz bowling under the captaincy of Mohammad Yousaf.
I think he is a good bowler, this match fixing issue is seperate PCb will have to make an in depth analysis why our players get involved in these illegal practices, they will have to eliminate the bad influences around the team and will have to ensure the financial well being of the players so that they don’t have to sell their souls.
April 17th, 2010 at 6:12 pm
http://maza786.blogspot.com/2010/04/fantasy-league-for-icc-t20-2010.html
plz join our league
April 17th, 2010 at 8:12 pm
Wasim
I hope there is a leg spinner in the country who can match or better Kaneria’s skill level; if not, he better book a flight home quick! Seriously, we need to find someone because that is the only reason he is getting picked because there is no other leggy to compete. This does not mean he is that good of course.
I agree to some extent that Akmal has not done him any favours or that sometimes Kaneria is not used properly but I think those effects are minimal. You will have to agree that he hardly has any variation, which is quite surprising for a leg spinner.
I do agree with your point on Ponting’s use of Hauritz but most of the success was down to Hauritz. He is a much cleverer cricketer than Kaneria and someone who uses what talents he has to the full.
Maz
Will have a look into it. Are Cricinfo not doing one?
April 17th, 2010 at 10:42 pm
Stani
I don’t agree that he doesn’t have any variation, right now there is no leg spinner in the world who can match his skill level, his main problem is that he is not used well not given proper field, if you remember Ponting gave Hauritz close fielders from the very first over and told him to flight the ball and our batsmen kept on going after Hauritz and lost their wickets. Where as Yousaf rarely gave Kaneria any close in fielder.
As a bowler Kaneria has only one problem he leaks a bad ball every now and then and gives away free runs he is in the mold of Sami will beat 5 deliveries and on the sixth will get frustrated and will bowl a bad ball. But he has taken a lot of wickets in test matches and has been our key bowler for quite sometime now.
If he is also one of those talented players who have sold their soul to the devil then it will be very sad, I think under Afridi or Younis he could have performed really well for Pakistan in test matches.
April 18th, 2010 at 10:31 am
Mohammad Irfan, the 7 foot giant has been selected for Pakistan T20WC 2010 along with Mohammad Sami as cover for Arafat!! Great news and all the best to the two of them!!
What a moment this is for pakpassion.net who literally made this guy, Mohammad Irfan. Without their support, hard work and promoting of Irfan he wouldn’t have got anywhere near where he has reached today. Phenomenal story :O
Stani, plz join our league btw as this one on cricketweb is much better and you can play against your friends etc all free of charge. I think you will enjoy it. Just have to create your team and come back at the end of the tournament and see your results, dead simple
Wasim/Stani
Amit Mishra is better than Kaneria!! There are many better bowlers than him around i.e. Raza Hasan, Shahid Afridi, Mansoor Amjad, Shahzaib Ahmed Khan etc..
Worth a read: http://tribune.com.pk/story/7010/kaneria-does-not-impress-me-qadir/
April 18th, 2010 at 1:28 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJwd240lLHI
Above is some footage of Irfan for those who haven’t seen him bowl
April 18th, 2010 at 7:10 pm
Wasim
I think he lacks variation and the little he does have, he does not use often enough or cleverly enough. I agree with Maz that Mishra is better, or will be than Kaneria .
Maz
He doesn’t like the stumps does he this Mohammad Irfan!
April 18th, 2010 at 9:14 pm
Stani
I don’t think Mishra is better than Kaneria his wrong one is not as good as Kaneria’s. However I do agree with you that Kaneria doesn’t use his variety smartly.
I am glad they picked Sami, but I wish if they had picked Shazaib instead of Mohammad Irfan I have seen Irfan bowl in a few matches he doesn’t have the pace his run up is poor doesn’t have the movement he only extracts some bounce out of the pitch. I hope that Waqar can turn him into our Garner but that will take a lot of work.
In the last two T20 WC’s we excelled because we had one surprise bowler who turned out to be the X factor in the first one it was Tanvir in the second one it was Aamer who knows that Irfan may turn out to be the x factor in this one, but that is wishful thinking the last time I saw him bowl was about a year ago unless he has improved dramatically during this period I don’t think his selecton can be justified.
April 18th, 2010 at 11:04 pm
Wasim (Cricketfiles)
Some good points. I am surprised by Irfan as a choice too as it was kind of out of the blue. It will be a big ask for him to hit the ground running in a major world tournament, but as you say, hopefully Waqar can do something. Interesting and very true point about Tanvir and Aamer.
I think the PCB should have had a batsmen or an all-rounder as one of the replacements i.e. replace exactly what we lost.
April 19th, 2010 at 4:22 pm
He was set to play for Moddershall CC in the Staffordshire league but as it turns out he is playing for Pakistan in the ICC world T20, what a fairy fale for the lanky fella!!
April 19th, 2010 at 4:28 pm
Amit Mishra has a massive turning wrong’un, much more lethal and sharper than Kaneria by a mile!!
April 19th, 2010 at 4:33 pm
Coming back to Irfan, a factory worker has become an international star in the making. It’s that type of story. It has the “wow” factor for one to adore!
April 19th, 2010 at 4:50 pm
News coming in :O…
“National Selection Committee headed by Mr. Mohsin Khan has recomended the names of Mohammad Sami and Abul Rehman to replace the injured Umer Gull and Yasir Arafat for ICC World Twenty-20. The names has been approved by Chairman PCB.”
what is going on????????????
PCB= Pagal circuis Bande!!
April 19th, 2010 at 8:36 pm
Maz
Typical! At their most professional once again. Though I do agree that there was no point taking two new pace only options as replacements, the manner in which they handled it has done Irfan more harm than good. Got his hopes up for no reason. The excuse was that he was not in the initial 30 but should that initial 30 have included more seamers? Yes, Wahab was there but not sure he deserved it in the first place. Although, I am not sure why the player not being named in the initial 30 prevents them from calling him in to the final squad.
April 19th, 2010 at 11:14 pm
Stani
The initial 30 names are send to ICC as probables, I am not sure if it is for Visa purposes or it’s a general rule but in past players who were not nominated in the initial 30 probables have been sent. Razzaq is one example.
My biggest concern is that why the approval of the Chairman is required when their is a selection committee.
If Wahab Riaz was unfit why wasn’t he replaced in a timely fashion?
Why Arafat and Gul’s exclusion was delayed for so long.
Rahman is a good bowler and has a lot of experience in this format but realistically unless Ajmal bowls really bad he won’t get a chance to feature in a single match, why they didn’t considered Shahzaib when he was the most deserving candidate?
I agree with you poor Irfan and his family will be devastated. If the captain and the coach are saying that he was impressive in the camp they should have included him.
But these morons can’t do anything right, to me it looks as if Butt revoked Irfan’s selection just to satisfy his ego because he wasn’t consulted on the matter this clearly shows that PCB is a one man show and the selection committee is just a rubber stamp.
April 19th, 2010 at 11:19 pm
Shoaib Akhtar’s Islamabad Leopards have won the match against a strong Punjab team, Akhtar took 2/45.
April 20th, 2010 at 1:27 pm
Wasim (Cricketfiles)
I agree on all points.
Good point about Razzaq. He came in for Arafat who was injured last time around too so I think in case of injury to a squad player the 30 probables factor shouldn’t matter. This then does beg the question why this excuse was used against Irfan. I wouldn’t be surprised if the PCB didn’t know the rules!
I think your point on the chairman getting involved is a very good one. Would you see it in the ECB or CA? The PCB is rife with unprofessionalness and I think you hit the nail on the head when you said that Butt did it to show who’s boss.
Indeed, I can’t see Rehman playing much either due to Ajmal as you said. I also think Fawad may be ahead of him even if something happens to Ajmal. So the rationale behind Rehman’s choice? God knows.
April 20th, 2010 at 5:15 pm
Stani
I have a feeling that if Hafeez bowled well then the management might decide to play Fawad or Rahman instead. I would prefer Rahman who is a good bowler and can bat also.
April 29th, 2010 at 3:40 pm
Thanks for the offer of a link. Send me a mail. I would be interested in seeing if we could help each other with joint promotions
April 29th, 2010 at 6:09 pm
Cricket Bats
No problem.
May 20th, 2010 at 3:01 pm
[...] Re: Dodgy cricketers ?? Stani Army Blog Archive Kaneria In Match Fixing Scandal? [...]
July 9th, 2010 at 5:38 am
So Danish Kaneria’s suspension by the ECB has been lifted. What action will the ICC takle? Are they planning to wait for the police investigation to end first ?
July 9th, 2010 at 6:26 pm
@Cricket Balls –
Whether he is innocent or guilty, there must have been something he got involved in for his name to be linked. I hope he learns a harsh lesson and realises what a privileged position he is in. It will be interesting to see the outcome of course. I don’t think the ICC will be able to act until the investigation is complete to be honest. It may prejudice the case.