Wednesday, November 2, 2011

'This verdict is best example for world cricket'



Cricket experts, officials and former cricketers react to the spot fixing verdict that was announced on Tuesday.
A few years ago when the Justice Qayuum report announced its verdict, served us with a warning and cautioned the PCB, nothing was done about it. That's not the fault of the Justice Qayuum committee. I don't think this verdict will make a difference to Pakistan or international cricket. If some players are out of the Pakistan team, others will take their place.


I am sad about what has happened because it involves sportsmen, but at the same time I think justice has been done because if you do something wrong you pay the price. I just feel sad for Pakistan cricket as well, because cricketers are not supposed to be associated with crime and corruption. But I think in a way it is good for Pakistan and world cricket as it should serve as a deterrent to others.
Zaheer Abbas, the former Pakistan captain
"I think the PCB should have played a more pro-active role last year when the issue came up and brought the players back to Pakistan immediately and tried them under our code of conduct. They should not have let the matter go into the hands of the ICC. It is shameful that today Pakistan cricket is facing such a day, but this is what happens when you don't react quickly enough to fight corruption.
Aamer Sohail, the former Pakistan captain
This verdict should be a clear warning that corruption is something that cannot be put on the backburner ever. You have got to pro-actively chase issues that might lead to corruption in the game. It is quite a strong message to the PCB that they failed to effectively have an anti-corruption programme for its players. I hope they take the hard lessons that have come out it, and make sure such a thing never happens again. There were a number of other players whose names came up [during the trial]. I hope the ICC would look at it seriously and not just assume the guy [Mazhar Majeed] was lying. The ICC did not assert its concerns to the PCB about the tour of Australia that preceded the 2010 England tour strongly enough. If the ICC has concerns about corruption, it should be much more robust in getting the message across to the boards and the players.
Ehsan Mani, the former ICC chief

I've felt deeply let down by the scandals we have seen ... Look at life in Pakistan and what do you see? You see corruption, you see people trying to make money overnight and unfortunately what the cricketers see around them is responsible for their behaviour. The Pakistan team management handled the issue very badly. They left cricketers thinking they could do something wrong, they could even get caught but, through influence or public opinion, they could get out of it. Pakistan has to start with a clean slate and move in a direction that is far, far removed from this sordid business."Shahryar Khan, the former PCB chief

It is a very disappointing and sad day for us in one way, for the players and for Pakistan cricket to be caught up in criminal proceedings. But they did something wrong and they had to pay the price for it. As manager, I had spoken to all the players on that tour and had talked about focusing on cricket and keeping their eye on the ball, but in the case of some, they didn't.

I think the impact of the entire incident has already been felt months ago, when the case first came up, when the players were banned by the ICC. What is required now is to forget everything and move ahead. These things have happened in the past and the game has moved on. India had its own case and banned its players. The biggest jolt has already happened for Pakistan cricket and it could not get worse.

But we have recovered from this and the team is doing well, I don't think the verdict will hurt the team now, there is no shortage of talent in Pakistan. We had good players who could replace the players involved in this case and they have done so. We just want the team to keep doing well now.
Yawar Saeed, who was Pakistan's team manager on the 2010 tour of England when the spot-fixing scandal broke

This verdict is the best example for the world of cricket because, in the past, cricketers who were corrupt would get away with what they did and be spared; they were never caught. Now the entire legal process has taken the full course and we have to give credit to the English prosecution and the court proceedings. They were able to use all the evidence and all the technology they had to be able to complete this case and make it an example for cricket in the future.

The impact of the Qayuum report lasted only a few months because the boards who knew that their players were up to something were insecure, they tried to bury it under the carpet, they decided to push for victories on the field, distract the public and not tackle the issue at hand. I hope the impact of this lasts for a long time and that boards take responsibility to see what is happening.

The damage to Pakistan cricket, to its credibility, had already been done when the news of this case first broke. We have lost some of our best cricketers and I hope that this sends a message out to upcoming players that these short-cut methods to earn a quick buck can cost you respect and your career. No matter how much money you make quickly, it vanishes and so does the rest of your life.
Khalid Mehmood, the former PCB chairman and ombudsman for the Punjab government

Integrity and fair play are the foundations for any sporting contest. The ECB fully supports the work of the ICC Anti Corruption unit. We have established a unit at Lord's to both educate players and officials, and seek to protect the integrity of the sport. We hope that criminal proceedings will act as a strong and firm deterrent to complement this work.

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