Match-fixing — and education

As the cricket team trundled back after a scandal-marred tour of England, Waqar Younis was quick to look for excuses.

As the Pakistan cricket team trundled back home after a scandal-marred tour of England, coach Waqar Younis was quick to look for excuses. He believes it is the lack of education and training provided to players at a young age that contributed to the disasters on and off the field. This is, at best, a partial explanation. Certainly, a lack of quality coaching and facilities contributed to the shoddy batting techniques that were exposed on seaming English wickets. But that cannot condone or explain cheating. While our players may not have received the finest education, how does that explain the outbursts of PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt? In accusing the hosts of involvement in match-fixing without a shred of evidence and declaring that there is a conspiracy against Pakistan cricket, Butt truly made a fool of himself. If there is any conspiracy to destroy Pakistan cricket, it is being orchestrated by the chairman himself. That he is still in charge and hasn’t been forced to resign in disgrace is a testament to the power of political patronage at the cost of merit. England was willing to host Pakistan’s home series, that they will no longer do. This can be solely blamed on Butt.

There are other villains in this saga. Pakistan’s high commissioner to the UK has shown a distinct lack of grace, calm and perspective in his inflammatory statements to the press. At a time when the cricket team needs to rehabilitate its shattered image, such defensiveness is uncalled for. The cricket set-up in the country needs urgent reform and player education is only one small part of it. Already the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit regularly briefs players on how to deal with bookies. After the match-fixing scandals of the 1990s, such education became a part of world cricket. What the PCB now needs to do is have a zero-tolerance policy for incompetence and corruption, whether it comes from cricketers or administrators.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 27^th, 2010.