85 Days Until The Ashes…

In the English summer of 1985 an Australian team ripped apart by rebel squads, lost to England 3-1. Although the teams will obviously be more settled this time around, like anything in cricket, it always pays to look to the past to understand the present.

As we look on in horror at the betting turmoil that is engulfing our great game, it is not so unbelievable to think that cricket could have suffered from great turmoil before. This was certainly the case with the rebel tour’s of South Africa led by former Australian captain Kim Hughes. Taking a team that included the likes of Terry Alderman, Rodney Hogg and Carl Rackerman, Hughes’ un-sanctioned team was always going to destabilise the official Australian team that travelled to England to try and recover the Ashes under Allan Border.

Led by the eternally divine David Gower, England were packed full of batting prowess including Graham Gootch, Mike Gatting and Allan Lamb. Throw in Sir Ian Botham for good measure, and that is a formidable side. Australia on the other hand was obviously affected by the rebel tour, but did still include the likes of Jeff Thompson, Geoff Lawson and Keppler Wessels. At the same time young players such as David Boon and Simon O’Donnell were trying to prove their worth.

The series last six tests, and after England and Australia had fairly narrow wins in the first two matches, the next two were drawn. The last two tests at Edgbaston and The Oval were another matter with England inflicting heavy innings defeats on a tiring Australian side. At Edgbaston David Gower made an imperious 215, to help his side post 595 before Australia was skittled in their second innings for 142. Again at The Oval Gower made a century, along with Graham Gooch’s magnificent 196. Australia was again made to look silly with totals of 241 and 129, with only their captain making a stand.

England was in the middle of a powerful era and certainly showed their prowess in this series. However, it is Australia that is of most interest in the current context. Like Pakistan today, Australia was almost ripped apart by an internal crisis that threatened to destroy the Australian test side. History tells us that they managed to rebuild into one of the greatest sides in the modern era, who knows whether Pakistan can do the same.

Where Next? Choose from the Latest World Cricket Stories…

• Ashes 2010: Weakened England put to the sword in 1982/83
• Ashes 2010: Shoulda Woulda Coulda Stuart MacGill
• One Hand One Bounce Cricket Podcast Special Edition 31.08.10
• Ashes 2010: A Look Back at 1985 and the Rebels
• The Pakistan Match Fixing Scandal: Why We Need to Understand the Wider Problem
• Ashes 2010: Silly Season and Shane Watson
• Ashes 2010: The Special Significance of the Number 87
• England vs Pakistan 4th Test Day 4 Highlights
• Why Would Mohammad Amir Be Involved in Match Fixing?
• England vs Pakistan Match Fixing Scandal Video Footage

The current match-fixing crisis facing cricket is being reported as a stunning new development in the game. However, as any astute follower of the game will know, this situation is nothing but the logical next step for a sport that has for some time been spiralling out of control. As such, it is worthwhile looking to the past to inform the present, and thus find someway of understanding how cricket can move forward into the future.

As with most issues that face cricket, the current issue has many different aspects and contributing factors. The scandal itself is developing incredibly quickly. The latest news reports suggest that the alleged match-fixer Mazhar Majeed acts as a manager of many of the Pakistan squad, including former captains Mohammed Yousuf, Younus Khan and Shahid Afridi. In an interview with the BBC’s Jonathan Agnew, Pakistan cricket manager Yawar Saeed has stated that he has seen Majeed ‘hanging around’ the team over the last few years. Up to this point Saeed and current coach Waqar Younis have not been implicated, however it is difficult to believe that the brevity of this situation does not reach any higher than captain Salman Butt, who is one of those allegedly involved.

The other two main figures involved in this scandal are Mohammed Asif and Mohammed Amir, who are the bowlers who ‘performed’ the no-ball’s at previously agreed upon times within the match. Much of the sense of surprise regarding the scandal has been centred on the question of why these young and promising bowlers would be involved in match fixing. The answer can at least partly be found with a look at a game that is increasingly without clear leadership and control.

Mohammed Asif’s journey to this situation is certainly the more colourful one. Asif was banned from the Pakistani squad in late 2006 after failing a test for the performance-enhancing drug Nandrolone. Further to this, Asif was also detained in Dubai in 2008 on suspicion of having illegal drugs in his possession. What is most revealing about Asif’s situation is the way in which he has been handled not only by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), but also by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The PCB is an inherently political organisation. Former Pakistan cricket coach Geoff Lawson today described its leader Ijaz Butt as incapable. The board’s history with dealing with similar problems, such as the Salim Malik match-fixing scandal, and indeed the continually scandalous Shoaib Akhtar, is less than impressive. Even the response to the recent tour of Australia was questionable. Younus Khan was sacked prior to the tour after a player revolt, and the new captain Mohammed Yousuf was banned from the game, and later re-installed as a player, after what might well have been a betting inspired loss to Australia in Sydney.

Mohammed Amir’s tale, whilst being less sensational, is perhaps more revealing about the problems facing world cricket.  Amir is cricket’s newest hot property. At 18 and with searing pace and fire in his eyes, he has captivated fans around the world. However, Amir comes from a country and from within a cricketing system, which Peter Roebuck has described as riddled with corruption. For too long the ICC has let cricket be a political toy that is fought over by various fiefdom’s around the cricketing world. Cricket’s governing body has also continually bent over to accommodate figures such as disgraced businessman Allan Stanford with his millions for West Indian cricket, and Lalit Modhi with his IPL, which appears to be corrupt to its core. Unfortunately, the way in which international cricket is managed has not helped this situation, and the true consequences of this are currently being played out. This is not to excuse Amir’s actions, but they must be understood in relation to his very poor upbringing, and a system that does very little other than allow corrupt practices to take place.

What must be understood is that this current scandal lies within a wider context of mismanagement and corruption at the highest levels. To simply cast out a few Pakistani players as scapegoats would be to simply do what cricket has done for too long. For cricket to emerge from this as a viable future sporting code it must address the core problems that have led to the current situation. If it does not, it risks being passed off as nothing more than a plaything of betting agents such as Mazhar Majeed.

91 Days Until The Ashes…

What an interesting English summer we have been witnessing. First of all it has been unique in that Pakistan hosted a test series against Australia on English soil, an odd situation in anyone’s language. But, more surprising has been the ability for a shambolic yet talented side to snatch test victories against both Australia and England. With just 93 days left until the Ashes, it is certainly interesting to see what each side may gain from their losses to this young Pakistani side.

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The Sky Sports team started the ball rolling regarding picking a top test team of the decade. See their discussion in full on World Cricket Watch.

On World Cricket Watch’s new weekly podcast One Hand One Bounce our panelists have also been discussing this topic in detail. A couple of weeks ago, the pod discussed the overall team of the decade, and although there were some ‘non-negotiables’ such as Tendulkar, Lara and McGrath, there was also some heated discussion about a few spots on the order. Listen to the full debate here.

We have also started selecting teams of the decade from each test nation on One Hand One Bounce. Punter Steve and David Siddall picked their Australian and English teams of the decade respectively in the last podcast. Listen to their teams here.

LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK ARE THE BEST TEST TEAM’S OF THE LAST DECADE FROM EACH NATION!

Punter Steve’s Australian test team of the decade

1. Matthew Hayden

2. Justin Langer

3. Ricky Ponting

4. Michael Clarke

5. Mike Hussey

6. Andrew Symonds

7. Adam Gilchrist

8. Shane Warne

9. Brett Lee

10. Jason Gillespie

11. Glenn McGrath

Dave’s English team of the decade

1. Andrew Strauss

2. Marcus Trescothick

3. Michael Vaughan

4. Kevin Pieterson

5. Graeme Thorpe

6. Andrew Flintoff

7. Matt Prior

8. Graeme Swann

9. Darren Gough

10. Steve Harmison

11. Andy Caddick

We’ll be adding more each week as discussed on One Hand One Bounce, but are also keen to hear your say on who should make the cut from each test nation.