Spot-fixing fiasco: the drama, the verdict, the learnings

the 'tainted' trio

It’s been eleven and a half years since Hansie Cronje’s dramatic late night phone call to Ali Bacher, and even now the sport is dogged by numerous match fixing controversies. The gentleman’s game is slowly turning out to be a matter of shame for people involved in it, whether it’s the administration or the players, and the series of events which unfolded in the past 24 hours would certainly leave its mark permanently in the global cricketing archives.

After some extended hearings at the Southwark crown court, a historic verdict was finally declared as three former Pakistan international cricketers were escorted from the dock by prison officers on Thursday after being handed a combined jail sentence totaling four years for their part in the spot-fixing fiasco in their Test match against England at Lord’s last year.

Salman Butt, termed as the “prime orchestrator” was jailed for two years and six months, Mohammad Asif for one year and Amir, who the least responsible for these bizarre acts has been jailed for only six months in a young offenders’ institution considering he was influenced by the skipper of the side. Their agent, Mazhar Majeed, the architect of this fixing operation was also jailed for two years and eight months, a punishment which is quite lenient as compared to the magnitude of his planning which has now permanently tarnished the image of the game which was built solely on the principle of integrity. The four of them showed little reaction as the verdict was declared, and rightly so, considering they never had anything which could have delayed or stopped this predictable outcome.

Spot-fixing timeline

Let us now revisit the series of events which unfolded one of the most unpopular elements of modern sports of cheating and gambling on the international stage, that has now taken center stage in the game of cricket.

Amir bowling a deliberate no-ball in the England series, which was then related to the spot-fixing scandal by NOTW

• The reports of the spot-fixing allegation first emerged on 29 August 2010 in a News of the World sting. The newspaper’s undercover reporters posed as the members of a gambling unit, paid £150,000 to an agent who arranged no-balls to be bowled at certain times in the match during the England-Pakistan test match series. The agent, Majeed Mazhar was noticed here for the first time as an agent of the players, accepted a £10,000 deposit from one of the reporters.
• Building to these controversies, News of the World then released numerous images of the deliberately bowled no-balls from the Pakistan seam-bowlers.
• The targeted players, Asif, Amir and Butt were at the center of the media circus as the impatient bowlers met the Pakistan High Commission in London on 2 September 2010
• On 3 September 2010, the trio was then interviewed by the British police before being sent back to Pakistan, where the fans were expressing their disappointment in large numbers, in what was turning out to be another roller coaster ride for everyone related to Pakistan cricket.
• The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) suspended all the three players involved in this case on 3 November, four days after their appeals against their ICC suspension was dismissed.
• In February 2011, an ICC tribunal had found the trio guilty of corruption and affecting the integrity of the sport. Salman Butt received a ten year ban from all forms of cricket, five of them suspended later. Asif and Amir were banned for seven and five years respectively, out of which two years were later suspended from the former’s punishment.
• In the same month the players interacted with the media and expressed that they will fight a legal battle against the allegations in the coming months.
• In early October 2011, the criminal trial began at Southwark crown court and on the second day of the proceedings it was also alleged that the Akmal brothers and Wahab Riaz from the Pakistan team were also working for the Majeed, the statement which was later proven to be inaccurate.
• On 17 October 2011, Butt’s police interview was played to the court in which he described the on field no-balls as a “freak occurrence’. Butt also revealed that he was suspicious of Majeed but had not reported the agent to ICC as he wanted to maintain a healthy relationship with him.
• During the same proceedings, Butt claimed that he made a withdrawal of £115,000 from his bank account on the day of his police interview, because his mum wanted some money urgently.
• The former skipper also said that the large amount of cash that were found in his hotel room were a part of his appearance fee for opening a friend’s ice-cream parlour. According to Butt’s lawyer, the players were accused of deceit, greed and corrupt practice on the basis of sheer coincidence, innuendo and guesswork.
• In the last week of October, it was largely expected that the players would receive a punishment upto seven years, as they were bound to be found guilty on the basis of cheating and corruption.
• On 3 November 2011, on the day of verdict it was also revealed that Amir had accepted all the charges and pleaded guilty already on 16 September 2011.
• On the same day, the trio and the agent was convicted to serve a combine period of four years in jail as they were found guilty for all the spot-fixing allegations. The jurors at Southwark court were unanimous in their decision but could only reach to a 10-2 majority for the severity of the charges in what was to be the conclusion of the first case related to on field cheating and corruption in the last fifty years of British judiciary.
• All four were ordered to contribute to the prosecution’s cost. Amir £9,389, Asif,£8,120, Butt £30,937 and Majeed £56,664.

Amir, during the ICC tribunal hearing in Doha

Justice Cooke’s undaunted approach

Sentencing the quartet to behind the bars was the most predictable and a rather easy decision but it was the way to handle the proceedings and comprehending a yearlong saga was the most difficult thing as the head of the judicial body. But, Mr. Justice Cooke was certainly up for it. Most popularly known for his withering assessments, had perfectly judged the conspiracy which has gradually become a wrought on the game’s future as he demolished all the pleas offered by the four defendants.

The judge summed up the events, as he stated that the youngsters have betrayed their countrymen at home and in UK, and that the jail sentences were necessary as a deterrent to others.

“The gravemen of the offences by all four of you is the corruption in which you engaged in a pastime, the very name of which used to be associated with fair dealing on the sporting field. It’s not cricket was an adage. It is the insidious effect of your actions on the professional cricket and the followers of it which makes the offences so serious. The image and the integrity of what was once a game, but now is a business is damaged in the eyes of all, including many youngsters who regarded three of you as heroes and would have given their eye teeth to play at the level and with the skill that you had,” the judge said, in what was a moving explanation of the case in the concluding part of his verdict.

“Now, whenever people look back on a surprising event in a game or a surprising result, the followers of the game who have paid good money to watch it live or on TV, in shape of subscriptions, will be led to wonder whether there has been a fix and whether they have been watching is a genuine contest between bat and ball. What ought to be honest sporting competition may not be such at all.”

Further in the hearing, Justice Cooke opted to describe the case to the defendants individually, as he termed Majeed as the “architect”, while Butt was convicted as an “orchestrator” and was responsible to drag Amir and Asif in the whole fixing plot.

To his credit, Amir accepted his crime which led to some relief in terms of punishment as the judged termed his behavior as comparably “unimpressionable” and being only 18 at the the time was readily leant on by other team members.

Justice Cooke deserves all the plaudits which are coming his way for setting an example of sorting things with little fuss, as he was determined till the very end of the hearing to provide the most fitting end to this conspiracy. To handle the case involving sporting personalities and international bodies, the pressure was imminent, the media was always piling up the pressure, but at the end it was his composure which mattered the most to provide one of the most talked about decisions in modern in sports. A decision, which will act as a significant marker for any such irregularities in the future of the modern games.

From acclaimed superstars to sheer disgrace to the game

Key Reactions to the verdict

“We have always said that we will continue to explore every possible avenue to ensure that cricket is free from corrupt activity. That is precisely what we have done in this case.” – Haroon Lorgat, CEO, International Cricket Council

“I am naturally pleased by today’s verdicts. It is a sad day for cricket but a good day for investigative journalism.”-Mazher Mahmood, News of the World journalist who uncovered the scam

“I won’t say there have been shortcomings but they have got to look at it now and get a grip on world cricket. I never thought I would live to see this day. Never. I cannot think this is happening to our game.”- Dickie Bird, retired international umpire

“I feel very sad today not only for the players but for Pakistan and its cricket. But the fact is that when these players see corrupt people flourishing in our society they think they can get away with anything.”- Imran Khan, former Pakistan captain

“We all know it is all over the place, we know it is endemic, now is the time to attack it.”- Ian Botham, former England all-rounder

All the above luminaries have called for a radical change in the game’s accountability and stringent laws for the players who attempt such shameful acts on any level of cricketing environment and one would certainly agree to that. It’s time when we find relevant ways to counter such problem and the ICC will have to evolve some protective measures to escape further embarrassment in future. Maybe, this verdict can act as an eye opener for the governing bodies as we enter a phase of the game where every individual’s commitment levels will be rigorously tested.