Wessel Johannes "Hansie" Cronje – Does this name ring a bell ? One of the most gutsy captains who led the resseruction of South African cricket. It was during the 1996 World cup, that they had a 10-match winning streak, but chocked leading into the quarter finals, falling for the brilliance of the Legendary Lara. A perfect gentleman, who seldom speaks, but makes up for it with his cricket. A very decent middle order batsman, who can bowl gentle pacers, often creating a sense of confusion in every batsmen’s mind. In fact he was the first captain since W. G. Grace to win a three-match series after being one down. He would have loved it if he was remembered for his feats, but rather unfortunately, the new millenium didn’t bring him luck, instead brought him Match-fixing. There has always been something mysterious about Hansie, be it his cricket life, his death & his realtionship with former coach Bob Woolmer. Not many can forget the incident that occurred in India, when he walked into the field wired in with an ear piece, that connected him to Woolmer from inside the dressing room. It might not be fair to say that he ‘pioneered’ the concept of match-fixing in cricket.
At the stroke of the millenium, there was an ugly-rising, potentially a sport killing phenomena – Match fixing. How often have I wondered, why sportspersons indulge in fixing games. The answer might be obvious, which is simply wealth accumalation. But at the cost of what ? Respect, Self-esteem, National pride, Dream etc., all of which are intangible, which shouldn’t even be compared to something as cheap & materialistic as money/wealth. Especially in cricket, as a youngster you see other legends representing your country with great pride & a sense of responsibility, you’d want to emulate them. It is a long process to get to the top & represent your country. It can never look tiring if it’s your passion. It will be an once in a life time opportunity, you will be a single person representing the millions, especially if your from the sub continent. That excitement is a fascinating high that any cricketer would die for. That incentive to represent a million people’s hopes is good enough for a player to play cricket. The question that instantly pops up is “Do yo need more?”
The answer is an untold yes. Players who come from a good pedigree, who are well-educated & have self taught values , genuinely keep the name of the game – Cricket, A gentleman’s game. But what about players from a humble-middle-class background, who have always struggled to pull the strings of their families together, performed really well for their nation & yet not be paid or well nourished by the boards. In an interview with Shoib Akthar, when he was asked about match-fixing he states “Whoever comes from, like myself, a humble background, if he is not preached well, not brought up well by the parents, he is bound to indulge in this (match fixing) and get tangled.” It can be the truth, but using sport to its undue advantage, kills the purpose of it. It is a disease which spreads like forest fire. Akthar further added “In Pakistan, there are six children in one household, with one bread-earner who has a salary of Rs. 2000. So you come from that culture and you're not educated as well.” If this is the kind of attitude any player shows, it clearly means that he’s not fit for sport. In a crude sense, selling yourself for money at the cost of the nation is good as being a “you-know-what.” I hope there's no day which comes, where young kids decide to play cricket for money, much more than passion.
What is sad to see is that budding youngsters who have not crossed even their teens have been brainwashed into such shameless scams. Mohd. Aamir, for example, is a terrific bowler, just 19 years of age, he had a good 10-12 years of quality cricket ahead of him. The problem of such cricketers are, they don’t have the mental capability to assess the future goals, especially when you have struggled financially through your life and all of a sudden a few thousand dollars are shown to you. What they don’t take into account is that, they might not only be ending their career, but also possibly face imprisonment. In the quest for some quick bucks, the dollar note blinds their eyes into something as suicidal as match fixing.
What has this led to? Every close match, a tied match, a team collapsing after a position of strength, or an underdog team winning has recently led to a comment, “ Aaah, the match is fixed ”, which boils the blood of any cricket fan. Why cant teams genuinely perform badly, why cant teams perform the act of a pheonix, why cant an underdog team win. Match-fixing has now turned into a synonym for unbelievable performances, good or bad. This surely sucks out the true grit & hardwork of any sportsman, who gives his all for the nation. But unfortunately, tainted cricketers have brought this plight upon cricket, in a situations where a comman fan can just pass a stare, helplessly.
But what has happened now, after the jury was out in the recent spot fixing scandals, has sent a deaffening alarm to the enitre world of sports, especially the cricketing fraternity. This decision of the Southwark Crown Court, in london would have sent a chill down the spines of players who have indulged in it and gotten away with it, hoping that no bookie turns back on them, during any length of their lives. Players need to develop ‘Zero-tolerance’ towards any fixing approaches. The bookies should be reported and stern action should be taken against them. The boards need to nurture the budding youngsters well, not only financially, but also inculcate & reinduce the glory & passion for representing your country.
We all say, cricket is a game of glorious uncertainties, let the glory stay; Let the uncertainty be, hopefully on the field and not off it.
A few players who were involved such match fixing scandals were
1. Salim Malik
2. Hansie Cronje
3. Herschelle Gibbs
4. Nicky Boje
5. Mohd. Azharuddin
6. Ajay Jadeja
7. Manoj Prabhakar
8. Marlon samuels
9. Mohd. Asif
10. Mohd. Aamir
11. Salman Butt
No comments:
Post a Comment