Many Kiwi cricket fans are reportedly wondering what’s the point of playing Pakistan in both Tests and one-day internationals, given that they have been known to cheat and fix matches.
Pakistan are the only side set to tour New Zealand in 2010-11, with two tests, six one-day internationals and three Twenty20s scheduled, including an appearance by the two combatants in each form of the game in Hamilton.
According to a write-up in New Zealand’s Waikato Times, the allegations of spot-fixing that hang over Pakistan mean they are an international sporting presence without a speck of credibility at present and any participation here this summer will simply take place under a massive black cloud of suspicion, unless the ICC are able to verify claims and swiftly apply sanctions.
The report says that the latest furore involving Pakistan seems set to speed ODIs towards their final dismissal from world cricket. There are so many meaningless ODI matches and tournaments that they’re a breeding ground for illegal wagering.
But will Twenty20 cricket follow suit? The microform of the game is all the rage at present, dragging new fans through the gates and filling the coffers through lucrative television deals.
But already the smash-and-dash format has been hit by allegations of betting scandals, with media reports last week — since refuted by the ICC — of 29 players coming under the attention of the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit for suspected match-fixing or spot-fixing.
So not one or two, nor even a handful of players — almost three teams worth of suspects were named in a secret dossier according to the London based the Times newspaper.
Cricket isn’t the only code trying to negotiate the minefield of greed, corruption and mistrust over betting — the NRL has more than one potentially explosive case to handle at present.
But until it cleans house with Pakistan, no match involving the upcoming tourists will be greeted with anything less than a streak of cynicism, the paper concludes.