Game Fixing

Cricket hit by new betting allegations

Officials tipped off about 'rigged run-rate' ahead of England's match on Friday – and then watched as the warnings came true

Cricket, the game which used to be a sport but is increasingly a body of litigation, suffered a further depressing blow yesterday. Claims were made that parts of Friday's one-day match between England and Pakistan were subverted, and the International Cricket Council, whose processes for this kind of thing are now well-rehearsed, duly announced an investigation.


This inquiry, which immediately triggered calls for Pakistan's remaining two fixtures to be abandoned, now joins the one of last month, when several Pakistan players were accused of accepting bribes to fix elements of matches against England. Police were called in, interviewed four players under caution, arrested a businessman, and an initial file of evidence has now been passed to the Crown Prosecution Service. And, on Friday, former Essex county cricketer Mervyn Westfield was charged with fraud at the conclusion of a separate inquiry. He will go on trial over claims that he deliberately played poorly during a match between Durham and Essex last year. There are also rumours that a recent match between Pakistan and Australia was rigged.

The allegations about Friday's one-day game, published by The Sun, centre on Pakistan's innings, and involved what the paper called "an illegal betting syndicate" having prior knowledge of the pattern of scoring. A popular bet by gamblers is on how many runs will be scored during a 10-over segment, and the paper claimed its "undercover team" had discovered a plan by bookies to fix the number of runs scored in one such part. It reported that the details were passed to ICC officials before the match, and added: "Cricket chiefs then watched as Pakistan's score mirrored the target that bookies had been told in advance by a fixer." England lost by 23 runs.

Those familiar with conventional betting may wonder why any bookie – however illegal – would accept a bet on a match involving Pakistan, such is their present reputation. But the suggestion in this case is that a Dubai-based "fixer" and a Delhi bookie paid for a certain scoring rate in one 10-over segment, and either backed this with other bookies, or adjusted their own odds so that gamblers were tempted to back other segments. The Sun said: "The probe centres on an individual within the team camp ... taking money from bookies and ensuring their orders are carried out." Such is the frenetic and widespread illegal betting on cricket on the sub-continent that practices like this can, apparently, be hugely profitable.

ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said: "Following information received by the ICC from a British newspaper and its source, the ICC now believes a full investigation is warranted. A source informed The Sun newspaper that a certain scoring pattern would emerge during certain stages of the match and, broadly speaking, that information appeared to be correct. We therefore feel it is incumbent upon us to launch a full inquiry into this particular game, although it is worth pointing out at this stage that we are not stating as fact that anything untoward has occurred. Only in the fullness of the investigation can that be established.

"The ICC maintains a zero-tolerance approach to corruption in cricket and, as a matter of course, follows up on all credible information that is received, whatever the source. Any player or official found guilty of an offence will face the full rigour of our robust anti-corruption code."

As far as the earlier allegations go, Scotland Yard said evidence that there was a conspiracy to defraud bookmakers will be considered by the CPS. Detectives interviewed four players under caution and arrested businessman Mazhar Majeed as part of the inquiry. Mr Majeed is accused of accepting £150,000 to fix the actions of several players during a Test at Lord's. The allegations, in the News of the World, accuse him of accepting cash to ask players to deliberately bowl no-balls during their tour of England. Captain Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz have all been interviewed under caution. They have been suspended by the ICC, but deny any wrongdoing. Some insiders believe the affair was a case of an alleged "fixer" trying to impress potential "investors" (in reality, undercover reporters), and that no bets were actually placed.

In the case of former Essex player Mervyn Westfield, the pace bowler faces claims that he acted dishonestly during a one-day, 40-over match between Durham and Essex on 5 September 2009. Police investigated allegations surrounding spot betting, a niche area of gambling where people bet on specific occurrences in a game. It is alleged that he agreed to bowl his first over in such a way as to allow a certain number of runs to be scored. Westfield conceded 60 runs in seven overs during the match, with four wides and two no-balls. It was broadcast live by Sky around the world. A second player, Essex and Pakistan leg spinner Danish Kaneria, 29, was questioned over the claims but has been told he will face no further action.

And so, as the sound of leather on willow fades from the summer scene, it is replaced by the crunch of approaching flat feet, and the rustle of lawyers' papers. For the forces of law and order, the cricket season is only just beginning.

There's a nasty smell, but the game is far from dead

Stephen Brenkley cricket correspondent

So, yet more evidence has emerged of dodgy goings on in the noble summer game. To listen to siren calls being made on almost an hourly basis there are more fixes taking place than in an inner-city back alley. Such has been the frequency and insistence of the allegations that the ICC had no option but to announce an investigation. Had it done otherwise there would have been a feeding frenzy.

Ten or so years ago when the fix was really in on cricket the ICC did nothing too often to try that one again. It had to act decisively. What this will elicit is difficult to tell but an early estimate would suggest not much. Pakistan's innings at the Oval on Friday might have followed a course that a newspaper's informant said it would, but – if so – it was achieved with extraordinarily good luck. The tourists lost three early wickets, one batsman edging a ball swinging away late, another being bowled off his pad and a third adjudged lbw which, on another day, might have been given not out.

There remain approaches to players by illegal bookmakers. There may still be elements of matches which are fixed – as they were, it is alleged, in the News of the World sting a few weeks back. But there is a danger of painting a picture of a game out of control. It is not.


Cricket scandal: Last roll of the dice

In the state of high moral dudgeon that has gripped the nation in the wake of the spot-fixing allegations that have bedevilled the Pakistan cricket team, rationality has been the first victim.

Former cricketer Aamer Sohail voiced a desire on live television that the players, if found guilty, be hanged upside down. A petition has been filed in the Lahore High Court requesting that the players be charged with treason. Cricket fans are not in a mood to be reflective, but reflect we must. Before we can even begin to fix the problem of corruption in cricket, we have to understand what motivates our players to risk their reputations and livelihood. And even more importantly, we need to understand the global gambling industry — both legal and outlawed.

No one denies that a massive, outlawed gambling industry exists in Pakistan, with its hub in Lahore. What is in dispute is the size of the industry. Those connected with it bandy about numbers in the trillions of rupees. The police say it is closer to Rs50 billion a year. Since gambling in Pakistan takes place in the shadows it is hard to give, with any authority, an exact figure.

While sports betting is currently making all the headlines, gambling in Pakistan encompasses just about every human activity that is conducive to wagering. Betting on the numbers that will be drawn on State Bank prize bonds is particularly popular, especially on Chaand Raat. The night before Eid happens to coincide both with the announcement of prize bonds by the State Bank and a time when people are in need of quick and ready cash. Prize bonds are identified by four-digit numbers and those who bet on those numbers win cash equal to the amount of the prize bond, with the bookie taking a 10 to 15 per cent commission from that amount.

Lahore is not just the centre of gambling but also coincidentally, of Pakistan cricket. Last year, SP Lahore Zeeshan Asghar admitted that there were over 800 gambling joints in the city and said that the police had been unable to take action against them as the police was fighting militancy in the city. He promised that a drive would be launched against gambling in the city soon. This hasn’t happened yet.

These gambling joints, though a hive of card games and betting on cricket and horse racing, are not big enough to have the clout or financial means to bribe players into throwing matches. The true powerhouses of gambling in Pakistan, who accept bets in the millions of rupees, hide behind layers of technology and middlemen. Odds are transmitted and wagers placed by SMS. Money changers, in the employ of the bookies, accept bets and pay out winners. These faceless men, who are believed to be based in Pakistan, India and Dubai, are believed to be those who can influence the results of matches.

India is finally taking its first tentative steps to tackling the problem of match-fixing by floating a suggestion that sports betting be legalised. Just like with the repeal of prohibition in the US in the 1930s, this would drive organised crime syndicates out of the sports betting business and allow the government to regulate the industry.

While the popularity of sports betting in Pakistan has undoubtedly played a role in the current crisis, unlike India, legalising and regulating the industry here is improbable due to custom. In Britain, for example, sports betting thrives and bookies make so much money legally that they have no incentive to fix the outcomes of sporting events.

There are two main venues for sports betting in Britain: bricks and mortar betting shops and online sportsbooks. Both are legal and regularly audited under law. Some bricks and mortar betting companies like Ladbrokes and William Hill and online sportsbooks like BetFair have become so large that their shares are floated on the London Stock Exchange.

It is the respectability of bookies in Britain that make them potential allies in the fight against sports corruption. They know that if they are caught trying to fix matches for financial gain they will lose their licenses and a billion-pound industry will be brought to its knees.

Additionally, legitimate sports betting enterprises make their data-gathering abilities available to law-enforcement officials. Thus, if betting patterns vary from the norm, it provides the police with information to act on. This is exactly what happened in 2007 when there was a surge of betting against a top 10 tennis player Nikolay Davydenko who was a set up against a player who was not even in the top 100. After the bets were placed, Davydenko suffered a surprising meltdown and lost a match he should have comfortably won. Although police investigations into the match were inconclusive, Davydenko’s reputation suffered and the tennis world took a closer look at match-fixing.

This approach would not have worked in the case of spot-fixing for which three Pakistani cricketers, Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamir, have been credibly accused. The incidents of the no-balls at Lord’s involved the subcontinent betting mafia, which can only be brought down by police work. For honest punters, though, a legal alternative exists in Britain, one that can allow for the thrills of gambling without ruining the integrity of sports.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 19th, 2010.