Sport was delivered a knockout blow in the UK after the cricket scandal moved to a new high, now to be known as SpotGate. The allegations were not allegations waiting for proof. Moveover, folks, this was a bunch of cricketers caught bowled and run out at the same time. Stumped is another word that leaps to the mind. The evidence is so overwhelming you need no inquiry. Throw the book at them. The frightening thought is that millions of diehard fans spend a mountain of manhours in suspense watching their heroes in action only to find that these icons have clay feet and we might as well be watching the theatre of the absurd. Each act could be rehearsed for all we know. That is the anger.
The fact is that spot betting takes the guts out of the game and leaves it shattered because every single moment comes under suspicion. For a game like cricket, which is a series of repetitive activities involving isolated individual performances while still demanding team spirit, every ‘scene’ is now possibly an enactment. Did the bowler do that purposely? Was the catch dropped deliberately…was it given deliberately? Was the ‘silly’ run out actually a planned exercise in moneymaking? How come the toss of the coin is never shown on TV…I have not once seen a close up of the call…have you?
That rush of hot blood, the impetuosity of youth, the display of impatience, the ‘why did he do that now?’ wail that commentators engage in deflects us from the possibility that it was planned. And then these clichés are extolled and dissected and you have to ask are they all clever gambits in the betting puzzle? It is so difficult to get away from that cloud hanging over the game? And the next question that rises in the mind is that it isn’t the countries that are giving permission to do this, it is the individuals in the teams and their nexus with the cartels and the greed is further manifested in making a travesty of wearing your country’s colours with pride. What pride exists when you care nothing for the greater glory and majesty that lies behind that privilege?
And it all leads to another concern: how deep does the rot in the willow go? Are there more players, does it go across boundaries, are officials involved, what about the spot effect in the truncated 50-over and Twenty20 matches where recklessness and taking the main chance offer far more camouflage for the cheating to flourish. There is less suspicion of a rash shot or a dropped catch and what really galls one is that these cricketers are becoming real fine actors for the rage and disappointment they display when they get out or mess up the fielding or drop a dolly and there we are, taking days off from work to be conned.
The one-day series between England and Pakistan is so cornered that if they do play it, I can’t see anyone shelling out a quid to witness it.
And as we watch the latest drama unfold with the Pakistani players one factor stands out. The ICC has neither the wherewithal nor the executive authority to tame this wild horse… it has galloped away.
