The world of cricket

Herschelle Gibbs and his laywer on their way to chat with the Delhi police © AFP

Suspicions of match-fixing during England’s hosting of the cricket World Cup in 1999 have led Indian police to Britain only days after they formally questioned South African batsman Herschelle Gibbs.

Delhi police are probing whether matches held in England were fixed by gambling syndicates and have requested the assistance of Scotland Yard.

Video footage of South Africa’s matches during the 1999 tournament and the UK bank accounts and telephone records of disgraced South African cricketer Hansie Cronje have been requested by the Delhi investigators. Cronje, the now-deceased South Africa captain, became a pariah in April 2000 when he admitted accepting bribes from gambling syndicates.

Before being banned for life and later dying in a plane crash, he was the subject of the King Commission set up by South Africa to investigate the bribery claims. However the King Commission did not focus on any of the matches in the 1999 World Cup.

Of particular concern is Bangladesh’s defeat of Pakistan in a group game, although claims have also surrounded South Africa’s loss to Zimbabwe and a second phase match between India and Pakistan. Zimbabwe and Bangladesh won when their opponents had already assured qualification.

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Inzamam-ul-Haq leads his side back onto the field … but too late to save the Test © Getty Images

The ICC is to intervene on England’s claims for compensation from the forfeited Oval Test after Pakistan rejected their demands for £800,000 in lost revenue.

As expected, following the failure to reach an agreement between the two countries’ boards, the ECB has now requested assistance and an ICC disputes panel will decide how much compensation England are to receive following Pakistan’s forfeiture of the game.

The ECB originally asked the PCB for £800,000 after they refunded all fifth-day ticketholders and also gave a 40% reimbursement to the 23,000 in the ground on the day of the abandonment, the fourth day. But Pakistan formally rejected this claim, as they maintain that the actions of the umpires were to blame for the resulting refusal by Pakistan to resume the match, and as the employers of the officials, the ICC is responsible for the losses.

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Mohammad Asif arrives at the preliminary tribunal hearing at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore © AFP

Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif attended the preliminary hearing of the tribunal investigating the doping case at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) headquarters in Lahore today. Both players - suspended from the Champions Trophy after testing positive for nandrolone, a banned steroid - recorded their statements separately. They were asked to submit their written statements for the next hearing, scheduled for October 26, after a break in proceedings for Eid.

“The hearing lasted around four hours as we had to do some initial work and then heard Akhtar and Asif,” Shahid Hamid, the chairman of the tribunal, told reporters. “We have given them reports of their tests and have asked them to submit their written statements in the next hearing.” The tribunal consists of Hamid and Intikhab Alam while Waqar Ahmed, the third member and medical expert, was unable to attend the hearing.

The tribunal is expected to return its findings in two weeks, after which the PCB will decide on a final course of action. Both players are liable to face bans of anywhere between one and two years. Hamid said that the players were briefed about the procedures and added that they had the option of bringing their lawyers in the next hearing.

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Former Australian captain Steve Waugh has said the International Cricket Council should make Pakistan’s dope-tainted pace duo of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif “pay heavily” if they were proven guilty of using banned drugs.

The pace duo were pulled out of the Champions Trophy in India after they tested positive for banned steroid nandrolone.

“It’s not really associated with cricket but you can’t be too naive to suggest that it wouldn’t happen. Obviously it’s here. Players know the rules and its very strict guidelines and you’ve got to work within those,” Waugh said.

“If you step outside of it then you’ve got to pay the consequences. So I think if they’ve done the wrong thing, they’ll certainly pay pretty heavily for it,” he was quoted as saying by an Australian portal ABC.

Matthew Hayden, Australian Test opener, echoed Waugh’s views. He said the ICC should get tough and send a clear message that drugs were not acceptable in cricket.

“We are very proud of having a clean sport that does its best to maintain the standards so that we pass onto the youngsters a clear message that drugs in our game aren’t acceptable,” he said.

Mark Taylor, another former Australian captain, said Akhtar and Asif had to be dealt with appropriately.

“It’s certainly disappointing for cricket and obviously disappointing for the two gentlemen involved,” he said.

“People like Shoaib Akhtar bring a lot of people to the game but they do have a role to play in the game with what we’re trying to teach our youngsters with what they should and shouldn’t do in sport.

“Obviously (drugs) aren’t a part of sport so they have to be dealt with appropriately.”

The secret behind Pakistan’s success at a time when they had been written off completely lies in a simple formula of playing the natural game without worrying about anything else, reveals skipper Younis Khan.

This winning trick was provided by the stand-in skipper just as the team was coping with the shocking news that key bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif were flying back home after having been tested positive for a banned drug.

“I told the boys to play their natural game. We should not look at the fact that which team is stronger or weaker. We do not have to see how many points we take from a game, but what is important is that we maintain consistency,” Younis told.

Younis, whose team landed here yesterday to play their two matches of the Champions Trophy against New Zealand and South Africa at Mohali on October 25 and 27, said their win against Sri Lanka had done wonders to their confidence.

“It was a good win. But the boys cannot afford to be complacent. We saw how Australia lost to West Indies. We’ve got to give our best shot and we will get through,” he said.

The 28-year-old prolific batsman admitted though that the team was missing the services of experienced players like Inzamam-ul-Haq and Shoaib.

“Naturally, they are experienced players and their presence alone is a great asset. However, the boys know they have a task to accomplish whatever the circumstances may be.”

Also see Champions Trophy, 2006.

Clarke and Gayle exchanged words several times

West Indies star Chris Gayle has been fined after a series of verbal clashes with Australia batsman Michael Clarke during Wednesday’s win by the Windies.

Gayle was found guilty of failing to “conduct play within the spirit of the game” by match referee Mike Procter after a hearing in Mumbai.

Clarke was found not guilty of the same charge in a separate hearing.

“There is a line between what is acceptable and what is not and Chris crossed it,” said Procter.

Off-spinner Gayle became visibly annoyed after a prolonged exchange with Clarke, whose 47 was not enough to prevent a 10-run defeat for Australia.

“What started off as banter between the two players got out of hand and Chris Gayle went over the top in his reactions,” Procter added.

“We do not want robots on the field and we want to ensure players play with enthusiasm and passion.”

See also Champions Trophy, 2006.

Pakistan cricket, already besieged by multiple controversies, has received another body blow with Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif, their leading new-ball bowlers, testing positive for the banned anabolic steroid Nandrolone during an internal dope test carried out by the Pakistan Cricket Board. They have been recalled to Pakistan and will miss the Champions Trophy.

Salim Altaf, Director Operations, PCB, told Cricinfo that the board, as signatories to the ICC’s Anti-Doping Policy (ADP), had carried out a routine test on 19 players at the end of September. The tests were put in place at the behest of Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach and are thought to be the first ever held in Pakistan cricket. The results were sent to the nearest World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) laboratory, in Malaysia for analysis. “They told us two samples had come back positive - of Asif and Shoaib - and the chairman was duly informed,” said Altaf.

The board had asked for the concerned samples to be tested again though there was some confusion over whether the second results had arrived. The PCB claimed in the morning that the results were due tomorrow, but Dr Nasim Ashraf, newly-installed chairman of the PCB told reporters in Rawalpindi that the second test had also yielded the same results.

The decision to call back the players pre-empts the embarrassment of them being found guilty during the tournament, at one of the random drugs tests recently put in place by the ICC for major events. The ICC had, according to the PCB, been informed of the situation and a decision was expected to be taken soon on whether two replacements can be sent. The possible replacements, the PCB says, are Abdul Rehman, the left-arm spinner who toured Sri Lanka with Pakistan earlier this year, and all-rounder Yasir Arafat.

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After getting flak for trying to gag the players, the Cricket Board on Wednesday tied itself in knots saying that there was no gag but the players are merely barred from talking about “other players, selection and Board policies.”

A day after warning vice-captain Virender Sehwag for speaking about deposed captain Sourav Ganguly and player burnout, BCCI Secretary Niranjan Shah indignantly asked, “how can you call it a media gag on players?”

“It is only a policy decision by the Board that the players other than the captain, cannot talk about other players, selection and Board policies,” he argued.

Shah’s description of what he told Sehwag varied from a “warning” to an “advice”. What exactly was it, he was asked.

“It is a warning. Advice is part of the warning,” was his unusual reply.

Shah, however, was clear that no further action was warranted against Sehwag. “The matter is closed,” he said.

Sehwag had called Shah on Tuesday to seek permission to take his wife to the West Indies which was granted. At the same time he was administered a verbal warning-cum-advice.

The Board Secretary had just one more piece of advice for the vice-captain — he should concentrate on cricket now. (more…)