The fix is in
By Irfan Husain

WATCHING the Pakistan Test team crumble from 78-1 to 165 all out on the first day of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Dubai brought back painful memories of many past debacles.

Supporters of the Pakistani cricket squad are masochists who constantly expect the triumph of hope over experience. For every stirring win that keeps us hooked, our boys snatch defeat from the jaws of victory more often than not.

But after reading Ed Hawkins’ book Bookie, Gambler, Fixer, Spy, I’ll never be able to watch another cricket match without wondering if it’s been fixed. An in-depth investigation of the murky underworld of cricket gambling, the book turns the spotlight on several games that raised eyebrows at the time.

The Pakistan cricket team is no stranger to controversy: the globally televised spectacle of three Test players being caught on camera in a News of the World sting operation in London in 2010 is a dark stain on our cricketing reputation.

Remember the one-day World Cup semi-final against India at Mohali in 2011? Hawkins describes the proceedings in some detail. He reproduces a direct message he gets on his Twitter account from Parthiv, an Indian bookie, during the match:

“Bookie update … India will bat first and score over 260, 3 wickets fall in the first 15 overs, pak will cruise to 100, then lose 2 quick wickets, at 150 they will be 5 down and crumble and lose by a margin of over 20 runs.”

In the event, India finished on 260. Out of this, Tendulkar scored 85, after being dropped four times off simple chances. Kamran Akmal, true to form, floored two out of a total of five fumbled catches. As Hawkins watched in disbelief, the Pakistani team followed the script and crawled towards the target before falling short by the predicted margin.

Umar Akmal found a new way to get out at 145, making his the fifth wicket to fall. Younis Khan scored 13 off 32 balls, and during the 74 balls he and Misbah were together, they put on 30 runs. Misbah made just 17 from the first 42 balls he faced. Ravi Shastri, the Indian TV commentator, said: “These are baffling tactics from Pakistan.” India won by 29 runs.

Another match Hawkins describes is the bizarre Test match between England and Sri Lanka in Cardiff in May 2011. The latter were all out for 400, while England replied with 491-5 in the first innings before rain halted play till the afternoon of the fifth and final day.

Seemingly, a draw was the only possible result, with odds against England winning being 999-1 when play resumed with just 55 overs to go. England declared after two overs, permitting Bell to get his century. The odds on a draw were 1-99, or 99 pence to win on a wager of £99. Thousands bet on a stalemate.

Then strange things began happening: as odds on an England victory improved sharply, the Sri Lankan innings imploded and ended on 82, thus losing by an innings and 14 runs. Understandably, Andrew Strauss, the England captain, described the Test as “one of the most extraordinary cricket matches any of us have ever played”.

But none of this is anything new: Hawkins traces gambling and match fixing back to the early 18th century when aristocrats routinely bought players to throw matches so they could win large wagers. And according to the author, many famous professional players around the world have indulged in spot-fixing and match-fixing.

After interviewing many bookies in India, Hawkins reports on how they consider themselves to be legitimate businessmen who have been placed on the wrong side of the law only because gambling is illegal. In most other countries, it is possible to regulate bookmakers because they are required to show their books to the authorities. In India and Pakistan, the billion-dollar activity is illegal, and hence attracts criminals like flies to a honey pot.

Another point Hawkins makes is that in the infamous 2010 sting operation, Salman Butt, Mohammed Asif and Amir, the young bowling sensation, could not be guilty of a “conspiracy to cheat at gambling” because the British Gambling Act of 2005 had not been breached. The reason is that in actual fact, it is simply not possible to place a bet on a specific no ball in a certain over.

This was the charge the three Pakistanis had been accused of and convicted for. According to Indian bookies, they would be very suspicious of anybody wishing to place such wagers and refuse to accept them.

After reading Bookie, Gambler, Fixer, Spy, I doubt I’ll ever place another bet on a cricket match. Every cricket administrator and fan should read it and learn what goes on behind the scenes of this great sport.

irfan.husain@gmail.com

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