Roebuck P: Bribery scandal may jeopardize World Cup (12 Feb 95)

Bribery storm hits Pakistan - Peter Roebuck

Peter Roebuck in Sydney on match-fixing allegations involving two prominent Australian Test cricketers.

ALLEGATIONS have been made that a man prominent and active in Pakistan cricket attempted to bribe two Australian Test players, Shane Warne and Tim May, to ``throw`` the first Test in Karachi last September. The approach was rejected but, if it is confirmed, the ramifications for next year`s World Cup could be profound.

The two spinners, it is claimed, were offered US$50,000 each, although there are rumours that the figure was twice that. They were shrewd choices because they could have thrown the game by bowling badly on a turning pitch. No other players were as likely to influence the course of the match. In the event, it was played with no hint of foul play and was described by Dickie Bird as the greatest of the 61 he had umpired up to that point. Pakistan secured a famous victory by dint of a last-wicket stand of 57, ensuring the only decisive result of the series.

Another approach was reportedly made before the third Test in Lahore and again Warne and May would have nothing to do with it. Nor did they mention the matter to anyone outside the dressing room. Not until the match was in progress did Col Egar, the Australian manager, hear word of funny business afoot and his informant was not an Australian player.

Warne and May, who were on opposing sides in a one-day match between Victoria and South Australia in Melbourne yesterday, both kept their counsel. When May was approached by the Sydney Morning Herald on Friday for comment, he was reported to have refused to discuss the subject, saying: ``It`s something too big.``

That may prove all too true. Should the rumours sweeping the Australian dressing room be found to have any basis in fact, the naming of the principal party in the affair could have explosive consequences, so prominent a figure is he in Pakistan cricket.

Graham Halbish, the chief executive of the Australian Cricket Board, admitted that ``a number of players were approached`` and that he had held confidential discussions with them in recent months, although he declined to reveal their identities or the contents of their statements. ``The ACB is very concerned,`` he said. ``I have also spoken with Col Egar and Bob Simpson and we are all absolutely confident none of our players have ever taken a bribe.`` Egar said of the Karachi offer: ``I was informed that it was knocked back and the blokes turned around and said `piss off`.``

The charges have also been discussed with David Richards, the chief executive of the International Cricket Council, who has been informed by the ACB that it believes the matter should be dealt with by the game`s governing body.

Arif Ali Abbasi, a member of the Pakistan board of control expressed complete surprise: ``It`s an allegation and it`s very late in coming. This never took place. Why this afterthought? What it amounts to is lack of management on behalf of the Australians because they never mentioned this to me and we have had such good relations with the Australian board.

``Are the Australians implying that the match in Karachi was thrown by the Australian team? If so, it looks more like an Australian cover-up. I have known Col Egar for a very long time and we have spoken regularly recently and he never mentioned this business. Throwing a match is extremely difficult and would need the connivance of the whole team and not just two people.``

Asif Iqbal, the former Pakistan captain, is adamant that the guilty party must be identified and brought to book: ``It is not enough for the Australians to say this has happened. I find both the rumours and the response inadequate. People should name names and we should have a proper investigation. Betting is part of cricket and takes place all over the world whether official or unofficial.``

Iqbal also stressed that allegations of this nature are far from uncommon: ``The first time I heard rumours of that kind was in 1980 when I captained Pakistan in India and lost 2-0. After that, there were rumours that we had been paid money to lose. It was, of course, ridiculous. These rumours have regularly resurfaced, particularly when India and Pakistan play in Sharjah and whenever a team loses it is alleged to have taken bribes.``

The most recent rumours emanated from a one-day tournament in Sri Lanka last year involving Australia, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The Pakistan board responded by banning mobile telephones from the dressing room and launching an inquiry.

Should the current allegations be substantiated, the repercussions, it scarcely needs adding, could be far-reaching for next year`s World Cup in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

The alarm bells, in fact, have been clanging for some time. A body set up by the Pakistan government to promote the event is alleged to be dominated by less than reputable characters, while a battle over television rights has led to a bitter court action between the Indian board of control and the state-controlled network, Doordarshan.

Controversy and Pakistan cricket, moreover, are not exactly strangers. Although the charges were never proven, national disgrace was heaped on Waqar Younis and the then Test captain, Wasim Akram, following allegations that they smoked marijuana on a beach in Grenada while touring the West Indies in 1993. Later that year, Sarfraz Nawaz, the former Test fast bowler, failed to win a libel action he brought in the High Court against his erstwhile Northamptonshire colleague, Allan Lamb, who had accused him of teaching his compatriots the art of ball-tampering.

The ball-tampering issue had first surfaced during a one-day international between England and Pakistan at Lord`s in 1992, after which Lamb claimed the tourists had defaced the ball in search of reverse swing. While the offending article was locked away in an MCC committee room and has never been released for scrutiny, subsequent television evidence of other matches involving Pakistan has supported Lamb`s claims.

The wisdom of staging the game`s biggest showpiece on the sub-continent has often been questioned; this latest body blow is unlikely to temper the scepticism.

Source :: Sunday Times