Melbourne courtroom holds the key (26 December 1998)

26 December 1998

Melbourne courtroom holds the key

By Mihir Bose

JANUARY 8 next year could turn out to be one of the most significant dates in modern cricket history. With perfect symmetry, the setting for this momentous occasion will be same city, Melbourne, where, 122 years ago, international cricket began with a Test match between Australia and England. But this time, the venue will not be the Melbourne Cricket Ground but a courtroom in the city and the subject will be alleged match-fixing in international cricket.

That morning, in Court No 1 of the president of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Appeals Tribunal, in King Street, Justice Abdus Salaam Khawar, registrar of the Lahore High Court, will hear evidence from Shane Warne and Mark Waugh. Warne has agreed to give evidence in open court; Waugh could choose to do so behind closed doors.

Both men will be questioned by Ali Sibtain Fazli, the lawyer for the Pakistan Cricket Board, about a particular match between Australia and Pakistan which Pakistani investigators feel holds the key to this long-running match-fixing saga.

The match was played at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground in Colombo on Sept 7, 1994 as part of the four-nation Singer World Series between India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Australia. That series resulted in many stories of match-fixing and it was after this series that the Pakistanis banned their players from having mobile telephones in the dressing-room.

The match has assumed dramatic significance and will feature prominently in the Melbourne courtroom because it was information about the weather for this match and the pitch conditions at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground that Waugh and Warne gave to an Indian bookmaker and for which they were paid. The Australian board fined them but kept it a secret for four years and it was only revealed last month in a newspaper article.

Fazli said: "In light of the Waugh and Warne revelations, this match becomes very interesting. We want to know more about this match.

"If the evidence is correct and the match was fixed, and Pakistan was supposed to lose, then why were the Australians being paid to give information about the pitch and weather conditions? It does not make sense. What was the money being paid for?"

In the match, Australia batted first and made 179 for seven in their 50 overs. Pakistan, who appeared to be cruising at 80 for two, suddenly lost Saeed Anwar, who had been batting well, to a hamstring injury and collapsed to finish on 150 for nine and lost by 28 runs.

During the course of the match, several things happened which, in an ordinary match, could be just coincidence but, in the light of the Waugh-Warne involvement with the bookmaker, now give rise to suspicion. For instance, just before Saeed's hamstring problem, the Pakistan 12th man came on and words were exchanged.

Saeed retired hurt when Pakistan were 80 for two and cruising to victory. When he resumed his innings at 124 for five, they were doomed to defeat.

Saeed himself told a previous Pakistani inquiry into match-fixing that watching the trend of the Australian fielders in the Colombo game, he felt the match was fixed.

Pakistan had come to the Singer World Series as favourites, having just vanquished Sri Lanka 4-1 in a one-day series, but they failed to win a single match in the Singer World Series.

I understand that in the past few days, Aamir Sohail, who opened the Pakistan batting in the match, has also given evidence about this match.

In previous testimony before the Pakistani judicial commission, a Pakistani bookmaker, Salim Pervez, claimed he gave money to Salim Malik and Mushtaq Mohammed, the Pakistan leg spinner, to fix this match. Pervez's evidence was given in camera but Mushtaq, confronted in open court about it, denied it. Salim has not yet been questioned about this; he has always maintained his innocence and will be recalled to be asked about the allegations. The Pakistanis have also invited Salim or his lawyer to be present in Melbourne to question Warne and Waugh.

The Pakistanis also intend to recall Pervez. In his initial evidence, he had claimed he gave the money to Salim amd Mushtaq on behalf of "someone else". He did not name the individual. Now that Warne and Waugh have said they were paid by an Indian bookmaker, Pakistani investigators will want to know if this "someone else" was the same Indian bookmaker who paid Waugh and Warne for information about the weather and the state of the pitch.

It was following this series that the Australians went to Pakistan for a three-Test tour. Waugh, Warne and Tim May, the Australian off-spinner, then alleged that Salim offered them money to throw a Test match. These allegations blew off the lid on match-fixing and since then, the Pakistanis have held a series of inquiries to try to discover the truth, the judicial commission that will sit in Melbourne being the latest.

Whatever comes out from Melbourne on Jan 8, the Australians, having tried for four years to cover up Waugh and Warne's involvement with an Indian bookmaker, are determined to turn over new leaf.

The hearing in Melbourne will be according to Pakistani law - in effect, a Pakistani court sitting in Melbourne. The Australians are paying all the expenses of the Pakistanis and are, of course, holding their own inquiry next month.

The day before the hearing, Brian Ward, the lawyer for the Australian board, will meet with Fazli to decide technical matters about the hearing. All this has done much to smooth ruffled Pakistani feathers about the Australian cover-up. Fazli told Ward: "We have a common interest. We are playing on a common wicket. We are both probing for the truth."

Whether they will discover the truth depends on what emerges in Court No 1 in King Street. On it could also depend cricket's ability to finally come to grips with match-fixing.

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)