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| Saturday, 27 March 2004 |
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Extend it to bowlers also Sa'adi Thawfeeq The International Cricket Council (ICC) is right in calling for evidence before treating charges on match-fixing seriously. But at the same time one hopes the ICC also extends it to accusations against bowlers with suspect actions. Unless sufficient evidence is available against the bowler he should be allowed to ply his trade. There has been enough and more written and said about bowlers whose actions are sometimes questionable, but unless sufficient evidence is available to ban them from the game they should be left alone. Wild allegations of match-fixing has gone too far so that the ICC which has an anti-corruption and security unit headed by Sir Paul Condon in place at all international matches, has decided to draw the line that enough is enough. The latest accusation of match fixing came during the India-Pakistan one-day series where former Pakistan wicket-keeper and captain Rashid Latif accused his country of throwing away the fourth match in a local newspaper. "To attack the integrity of the game and the players taking part in this series without proof is entirely inappropriate and does nothing to actually address the threat of corruption," said ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed responding to Latif's accusation. "If these allegations are to be treated seriously the people making these claims need to substantiate their claims or withdraw them. We have all seen the opinions of various people that have been aired in the media and they all share a common theme - they are all long on speculation but short on evidence," he said. Latif and former Indian fast bowler Manoj Prabhakar are regarded as the whistle-blowers in the match-fixing scandal which hit cricket in 2000 and resulted in three captains Salim Malik of Pakistan, Mohammed Azharuddin of India and the late Hansie Cronje of South Africa being banned for life when it snowballed into a major crisis. Latif cannot paint the picture of being a saint. Wasn't he guilty of cheating when he disputed a bump catch and was suspended for his poor sportsmanship during the Bangladesh series? It is not that the results of India-Pakistan matches in the past have not known to be fixed, but with the ICC making an all out effort to wipe out this corruption in the sport, Latif's allegation's seems too far-fetched to believe. There was a time when India refused to go to Sharjah because the matches played there were heavily weighed against them. They have not played there since 2000-01 when they were bowled out for their lowest ever one-day total of 54 by Sri Lanka who went on to record a comprehensive 245 runs win. It is the second largest margin of victory in a one-day international after Australia's 256-run defeat of Namibia in the 2003 World Cup. Birth of Asgiriya Stadium Many international captains come and go praising the international cricket grounds at Asgiriya, venue of the second Test between Sri Lanka and Australia. The latest tribute to this ground was paid by Australian captain Ricky Ponting who said: "This was an excellent wicket. I expected it to deteriorate a lot more than it did. The first morning there was a bit of moisture around. It looked a bit dusty underneath it we thought it might dust and turn a bit more as it has done here in previous games. But it held together really well." Few realize the history of how this small cricket ground of Trinity College came to be transformed into an international cricket venue within a short period of time. The seeds for the transformation of this ground were sown 30 years ago when the late Minister Gamini Dissanayake came to reside at no. 20, Fifth Lane, Colpetty, which was right opposite the residence of former Sri Lanka cricketer Abu Fuard. A close and trusted friendship was soon built between the two and Fuard was able to persuade the Minister to help him achieve certain goals for the upliftment of Sri Lanka cricket. The first was to make the Minister accept the office of president of Sri Lanka Cricket (then Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka). The Minister's first priority was to obtain full ICC membership status for the country. The ICC had stalled Sri Lanka's full membership status for over 20 years for the reasons that the basic infrastructure to host official Test matches was not available. The primary requirement was that Sri Lanka needed at least two Test venues outside the city of Colombo. Briefed fully by Fuard, the Minister attended the ICC meeting at Lord's in 1981 and he made a plea to the members of the ICC that full membership status should be given to Sri Lanka without further delay. He assured them that within six months he would guarantee a Test playing venue would be constructed in Kandy and in another six months another in Galle. He also gave the assurance that infrastructure of the existing three Test venues in Colombo would be upgraded within this period. It was due to the eloquent speech of the Minister made at this meeting together with the assurances he gave to the ICC, that Sri Lanka finally obtained long-awaited full membership of the ICC. Having got over the first hurdle the onus was on Fuard to fulfill the assurances and guarantees made to the ICC. He was entrusted with the entire responsibility of transforming the school ground to an international cricket stadium. As Fuard recalled later he was to co-ordinate with the Trinity College principal and his representatives as well as with a few State Corporations and with the famous contractors Balfour Beaty. It was due to Fuard's untiring efforts as well as the assistance he obtained from various individuals that this ambitious and arduous project was completed in five and a half months to the entire satisfaction of the members of the ICC. During this period Fuard literally spent his entire time at the Asgiriya grounds and carried out his task in an honorary capacity. So whenever one talks of the Asgiriya International Stadium it must always be remembered that if not for the dynamism of the late Minister and the tireless and dedication of Fuard this stadium would never have become a reality. What would have been the future of Sri Lanka cricket if they had not been neighbours? Now it's the 'teesra' To what extent will cricketers go to win back their place in the national team? The latest ruse to get into the team has been developed by Pakistani off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq. Saqlain who introduced the off-spinner's googly - the 'doosra' (the other one) to international cricket is reported to be developing a 'teesra' (the third one) in a bid to win back a place in the Pakistan team for the Test series against India. "I've realised it's necessary to keep on bringing variations into your bowling to survive in the hectic world of international cricket. There is no survival without variation," Saqlain was quoted by a news agency. "Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan and Anil Kumble have also been successful and consistent because of the variations they keep introducing into their bowling," he said. Despite a haul of 207 Test wickets and 288 one-day international scalps, Saqlain 27, has played just one Test and one one-dayer for Pakistan since last September. It is also reported that he has joined the tribe of beard growers a la Saeed Anwar and leading the prayer congregation of the Pakistani team. |
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