The Cronje episode has developed into an avalanche that is hurtling across the entire Cricket world destroying many reputations. Those of us who believe that Cricket is a "Gentleman’s Game", are sad that the image of the game has been irrevocably sullied. The immediate task before us is therefore to rebuild the lost reputation of Cricket.

Where to start?

This rebuilding process has to start with the unraveling of all the damage that has already been caused to the game by match fixing in different countries. It should then identify remedies and develop a firm plan of action for undoing the damage. 

Betting Vs Match Fixing

For most, betting per-se is not as much the cause of concern as " Match Fixing". Since betting nature is too deeply ingrained in the human nature, it is natural that an interesting game such as Cricket becomes a target of betting. As long as betting remains illegal, it keeps operating underground. This hush hush nature of the betting industry helps the criminals who cheat since the affected persons cannot approach the legal authorities for redressing their grievance if any. 

Cricket Boards are Unreliable

One of the positive outcomes of the Cronje episode is that the matter is now in the hands of the law enforcing authorities in India and is beyond the reach of the manipulative hands of the Cricket board officials. In all previous episodes of betting including self admissions of Dennis Lillee, Rodney Marsh, Shane Warne and Mark Waugh as also the exposes made by Rashid Lateef and Manoj Prabhakar, accusing Wasim Akram and Azaruddin, the respective Cricket Boards have been engaged in cover up operations. 

Even though Mr I.S. Bindra, the former chairman of the Board of Control of Cricket in India himself has confirmed that many cases of match fixing have been officially reported, the Indian board has not shown any inclination to unearth the truth.

The ICC, of which Mr Sanjay Dalmiya is the chairman, is also aware of the match fixing allegations in the past but again has chosen to remain quiet. 
 

Et Tu Chandrachud?

What is alarming about this silence is the fact that the Indian board went to the extent of even "Fixing an Enquiry" to cover up the matter. Although Mr Prabhakar’s allegations about the involvement of his team mate (Azaruddin?) in match fixing was investigated by a former judge of Supreme Court Mr Y.V.Chandrachud, the process was far from being credible. It appears from the extracts of the report presently available, that Mr Chandrachud was more interested in building an evidence for the Board to file a defamation case against Mr Manoj Prabhakar rather than finding out the truth. 

In the light of the above, we can presume that, not only the top players of India and Pakistan are involved in the match fixing scandal, but the board officials and the ICC officials are also either involved in the scandal or have vested interests in keeping a lid on the truth.

Passive Collaboration

One of the things that makes me even more sad is that for every person in the national team who may be involved in a match fixing exercise, there are many more who are aware of what is going on but are not committed enough to come out with the truth. For example, there is a strong doubt that Mr Javagal Srinath and Robin Singh received instructions from Mr Azaruddin during the India-Zimbabwe match in the last world cup to finish the match with an over to spare. Even Mr Gavaskar had made an allegation to this effect immediately after the match. Unfortunately, neither Mr Srinath nor Robin Singh have clarified the truth nor we were able to understand how Gavaskar suddenly switched sides to become a staunch supporter of Azaruddin. 

Let an Independent Enquiry bear them all

It is therefore necessary for another independent enquiry first in India and then in every cricket playing country, to expose every player or official who may be involved in match fixing. Such enquiries are required to be conducted, by the governments of the countries involved and should cover the Board officials and the ICC too. It may be necessary to even examine Mr Chandrachud himself to understand the pressures that might have been brought upon him either by his influential friends or by the underworld. It should also examine other players who are not accused of the crime but may be aware of things, including cricket commentators such as Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri, Srikanth, and Harsha Bhogle. All these people know much more than what they admit in public and may have enough courage to speak the truth if nudged properly.

Plan of Preventive Action

Prevention of the match fixing menace will have to work on two fronts. Firstly, there should be a strong deterrent for players so that they keep away from such malpractice. Secondly, there should be a recognition of the positive contribution by players who by their action uphold the tradition of the Cricket as a "Gentleman’s Game". As a deterrent, the punishment for any proven guilt should be a total ban on the player and freezing of all his future dues from the Cricket Board. On the other hand, those who uphold the traditions of the game both on and off the field, or those who show exemplary courage in bringing match fixers to book should be rewarded with a recognition "Gentleman Cricketer of the Year".

The award can be sponsored by an appropriate authority provided it is ensured that it would not compromise the integrity of the system.

Obviously, the award committee would also act as a watchdog against match fixing allegations in future without the Cricket Control Boards or the ICC being in a position to influence. The key to the success of the scheme would be to ensure a flow of confidential information from current players, umpires, journalists, spectators, or other informers. 

The information source should be authentic enough to prevent maligning of honest cricketers. At the same time, it should keep the confidence of the informers so that their careers would not be jeopardized. If persons like Pataudi, Dickie Bird etc are in the award committee, it would perhaps ensure enough confidence in the informers. The information itself may flow through the Internet through e-mails and can be suitably verified for authenticity. Transparency of the information that is reported may provide checks and balances against mischievous and malicious reports being filed.

Once the impact of the above reward system sinks in, players would compete with each other to be the ambassadors of the gentleman’s game both on and off the field. This should restore the game to its old time glory as the Genteman’s game.

Na.Vijayashankar
19th April 2000