"Cato used to assert that wise men profited more by fools than fools
by wise men; for that, wise men avoided the faults of fools, but that
fools would not imitate the good examples of wise men," quoted
philosopher Plutarch. This is precisely what has happened to the game
of cricket since the story first broke in April of match-fixing in the
game. There has been talk of cleansing the game from all quarters
including Manoj Prabhakar, the man who blew the whistle, the various
cricket boards, the government, the investigation agencies be it
ICC's, CBI, King Commission or Scotland Yard. But what all these
people have conveniently forgotten is that those who benefited the
most - the bookies - have been forgotten in this exercise. Indeed, so
far nobody has taken any action against the bookies while the players
have been targetted.
Given this background, the ICC anti-corruption director Sir Paul
Condon told a press conference in New Delhi on Wednesday that it was
the duty of all cricket playing nations to carry forward the
investigations from where the CBI had left it. He added "We will take
forward the investigations from here and ensure coordinated efforts to
remove the menace of betting and match-fixing in cricket." Condon
added "We are determined to leave no stone unturned in investigating
these allegations. As a result, we have been working to establish
whether this evidence can be uncovered." He also said that the ICC
probe into malpractice would reach far and wide.
Condon said "If there are guilty cricketers, then they have a great
deal to fear now," he said at the end of his trip to India. He added
that "We all want to believe that what is happening out there has to
do with skill and a bit of luck and not telephone calls and shady
deals."
Talking to reporters after his meeting with the Union Sports Minister
Uma Bharti, Condon said the talk was purely a courtesy call. He also
said that the ICC would 'further probe' the role of the foreign
cricketers who have been named in the CBI report. "We have got up-todate information on foreign players," he said, after his team met
Union Law Minister Arun Jaitley, Uma Bharti and KK Paul, head of New
Delhi Police.
Condon said "We have now concluded talks with key figures from the
BCCI, CBI, Delhi Police and the Indian government to gather
information in areas where India's premier investigating agency has no
jurisdiction."
Condon said "We have amassed considerable information here and now we
will analyse this and submit a report to Lord Griffiths of the ICC
around April next year. But at this point of time we are not prepared
to say which individuals we met. The mandate given to us by the ICC is
clear that no one who has indulged in unfair practice be spared and at
the same time no innocent person is falsely implicated. This is going
to be a long process. This is not a sprint but a marathon and we need
to take a good hard look at it."
On the scandal, Condon said the revelations made so far in the matchfixing scandal were "only the tip of the iceberg," adding "We have
gathered enough information about the players and others named in the
CBI report and hope to carry forward our investigations on overseas
players with their help." On the punishment meted out to the players
in different countries, Condon said "The law will vary from country to
country. The actual impact in each country will be different but there
is a standard code of conduct for all countries, reinforced by
individual laws."
When a reporter asked Condon how the ICC proposed to control the
bookies, Condon replied, "The growth of the internet, telecast of all
cricket matches, increase in the use of mobile phones etc. have
provided an enormous opportunity for malpractice and we need to
streamline and tighten it all and make such conditions that it becomes
extremely difficult for people to indulge in such activities."
Condon was accompanied by Greg Mellick, investigator of the Australian
Cricket Board, New Zealand official Tim Gresson and Sri Lankan
official Desmond Fernando. Mellick in a statement said "As previously
stated by the ACB, we have been conducting an investigation working
together with other boards. This visit has been a good example of that
cooperation." Fernando said the visiting team had taken the CBI's
charges seriously. He added "Each of the Boards who have players named
in the CBI report are taking the allegations very seriously. The most
effective way forward is through the sharing of information and
agreement to a coordinated approach. My investigations will continue
on this basis."
Meanwhile, four youths have lodged a complaint with the Rajkot police
station against the former Indian captains Mohd. Azharuddin and Ajay
Jadeja and the bookies for cheating them by fixing the Titan Cup match
between India and South Africa at Rajkot in 1996.
The case was registered, on a complaint by Sanjay Vyas, an advocate
and one of the spectators at the venue who said in his FIR that by
fixing the Rajkot match played on October 29, 1996, both the senior
players had cheated spectators such as him, who had come to enjoy a
fair game. Vyas also added that he was aggrieved because the
subsequent `revelation' that the match was rigged made it a loss of
money and time for spectators such as him who had paid for his ticket.
On a separate front, the Union Sports Minister Uma Bharti said on
Wednesday that the government is proposing some changes in the
provisions of the law to incorporate issues like match fixing. Talking
to the media in New Delhi, Bharti said "Changes in law will have to be
made definitely. Some suggestions have been made to the law ministry."
She also said "there is no clarity in law on such an issue (match
fixing) as nobody visualised that such a thing could ever happen. Now
the time has come to incorporate the necessary changes in the law."