Administrators are largely to blame for the mess
The significance of a cryptic remark by one of the visiting South African journalists some years ago did not register until the 'Cronjegate' emerged recently
Woorkheri Raman
10-Jun-2000
The significance of a cryptic remark by one of the visiting
South African journalists some years ago did not register until
the 'Cronjegate' emerged recently. There were always cynical
asides made about a few match results or failures of leading cricketers. For one who obviously has the game at heart, all
these were nothing but malicious gossip. By sheer accident the
Delhi police stumbled onto a 'tapped' conversation between a
bookie and the South African captain, Cronje.
The immediate reactions were predictable as everyone accused
denying any involvement at all. Cronje took his own time and
eventually came around confessing in instalments. Initially he
might have tried to bluff his way out of the scandal but a
combination of a `Christian upbringing' and irrefutable evidence
from the Delhi police ensured that a few facts were revealed from
the horse's mouth. Such was his stature that even the Indian
police felt sorry about the way the episode came to light. The
South African public went berserk and some even went to the extent
of questioning the pedigree of the nation, which exposed Cronje!
Cronje's teammate and fellow accused Gibbs stuck by his skipper
and repeatedly denied his involvement. Ali Bacher felt enraged
that Cronje lied to the UCBSA officials and did his best to salvage
the image of South African cricket. He threatened to reveal the
details about match fixing and also name the people involved in it.
The controversy became epidemic when the enigmatic English
all-rounder Chris Lewis jumped on the wagon, stating that
three cricketers from England were involved for some time in this
nasty business. It was then the ICC came into play and there was
strong statements indicating that this plague was going to be eradicated.
What followed was nothing out of character as the ICC took a
decision, which was irrelevant to the problem. It is amazing how
an apex body could dilly dally on such important issues. Ironically
the same body is so prompt and stern on the players with regard to their commercial obligations and behaviour on the field. The
players have been reduced more or less to some kind of machines
just having to play almost day in and day out. Imposing restrictions
on the size of stickers on the bats and the logos on the clothing
were dealt with real authority. It is ridiculous to see that the
same authority was lacking in dealing with a scandal rocking the
very image of the game and also causing anguish to the innocent
lot.
One thing that the ICC does well is passing the buck onto the respective cricket boards. Every board was asked to probe into
this affair and submit reports to the ICC. The PCCB has sent the
Qayyum report, which has received mixed ratings from various
people from Pakistan. The strange thing was that different modes
of punishments were handed to different cricketers and one
cannot understand what formed the basis for the same. Salim Malik
was portrayed as the chief culprit resulting in a ban and he seems
have got himself into more trouble with one of the newspapers with
his boisterous statements.
Across the border, Manoj Prabhakar started his second spell in a
very attacking mode. He revealed the name of Kapil Dev as the one
who offered him the bribe to under-perform. What a sensation,
one thought about it then. He surpassed himself when he
surreptitiously taped the conversations he had with several
colleagues and the BCCI officials. The BCCI along with the
Central ministers decided that the CBI should investigate and
report the findings. At the moment the CBI is busy collecting
the evidence from everyone concerned and only time will tell how
deeply this cancer has spread in India.
The South African authorities, true to their word have started
the King Commission of inquiry and some startling facts are
emerging from the investigation. Gibbs has testified that he
accepted the offer resulting in his omission from the squad. It
was generally said that the sub-continent is the haven for this
kind of murky business but it has now been proved that greed is
not geographically oriented. The 'holier than thou' characters
have been exposed and obviously the book was not as good as the
title. The current investigation might spread its wings to
several other nations and imagine the chaos if a few more big
names crop up in the process.
More than the guilt of a few cricketers it is the officials' stand
that has been shocking all these years. Administrators across the
globe have been informed one way or the other about certain
happenings in international cricket. No one wanted to be the first
one to bell the cat and suddenly when an accidental revelation
cropped up, the officials started to blow the whistles hard enough
to burst their lungs. The administrators are to be blamed largely
in the sense that weeding this menace in the roots would put an end
to it once for all. By their inaction they have allowed things to
go beyond manageable proportions. Of coure, the cynics might even
say that there is no point in trying to correct or convict a few
individuals unless the system is first cleansed of all its
fancy notions.