England warned over pitfalls of match-fixing against Pakistan

[Sachinism]

The head of the players union on Tuesday identified Twenty20 cricket as "ripe" for match-fixing and Graeme Swann, the England off-spinner, admitted corruption probably still stalked cricket. "Everyone is educated and made fully aware of the dangers," said Swann. "You would be an absolute idiot if you did it. It is lunacy and anyone who tries it gets what they deserve. "It probably does go on in some form with some players. You can never know who it is but I certainly don't think anyone in this England team has done it. "It is common sense basically. If a shady man offers you £50,000 to know what the pitch is doing you don't tell him it is going to seam about all over the place." England's opponents this week, Pakistan, were on Tuesday accused of being involved in match-fixing by a Pakistani politician. "The main problem in the Pakistan team is gambling and match-fixing. Most of the members of the Pakistan team are involved in it," senator Enver Baig told a government committee. His comments follow those of Tim May, the chief executive of the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations, who demanded vigilance as Twenty20 tournaments and leagues spring up around the world. "Lord Condon, who headed up the ICC's Anti-corruption and Security Unit, said only last year that we can never think we have this cancer beaten," he is quoted as saying in the next issue of the Wisden Cricketer magazine. "Twenty20 is just ripe for corruption – the shorter the game the more influence each particular incident can have. So I think it opens up a great deal of opportunities for the bookmakers to try and corrupt players into providing various different outcomes in the game, if not the result itself. Cricket needs to be very, very careful." Reminders of the UAE's past association with alleged match-fixing are constant. The England team spent Monday night at the residence of Abdulrahman Bukhatir, who as organiser of the Sharjah tournaments of the mid-1990s, had to vigorously defend his competition against charges of match-fixing. In the England dressing room at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, where they trained before the game against the Lions in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, posters warn the players of the danger signs to look out for and give the number of an anti-corruption hotline. The Dubai stadium is short hop down the freeway from Sharjah, which has not been used as an international venue since 2003 due to allegations of corruption. Although they were never proved the ground's star waned for good once the Indian board banned its team from playing there in 2001.

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/international/england/7252271/England-warned-over-pitfalls-of-match-fixing.html

[achilles]

What a disgrace! Not even the Pakistani government backs its players. Shameful. The government should stay out of politics. Generalizations like "The main problem in the Pakistan team is gambling and match-fixing. Most of the members of the Pakistan team are involved in it" are an insult to honest cricketers in the team and I really don't want people to quote one or two after this post. There is something called "RESPECT". About time the Pakistani public stopped putting up with this nonsense.