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Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Why did Zulqarnain Haider not go to his Pakistan team-mates first?

Zulqarnain Haider did not turn up for Pakistan's fifth ODI against South Africa, instead getting on a plane to London. Photograph: Carl Recine/Action Images
Wagers have been made on cricket for as long as the game's been around. The official Lord's website says: "Like shooting and fox-hunting, cricket was considered a manly sport for the elite – with plenty of gambling opportunities to boot." It also speaks of how nearly £20,000 was bet on a series of games between Old Etonians and England in 1751.

Anyone who thinks that the News of the World's exposé a couple of months back will seriously affect the sums staked on matches, legally or otherwise, is delusional. At most, anyone involved will lie low for a few months and then start again. All that l'affaire Haider, with a plot as complicated as the ending of The Natural, has done is to drag the murky world of fixing back on to the front pages of newspapers.

What's the real story here? No one seems to know. Is Haider a victim of vicious gambling syndicates, or an opportunist seeking to take advantage of the fact that Pakistan cricket's reputation is at an all-time low? Just as the tabloids are likely to believe anyone who claims to have had intimate relations with Wayne Rooney, there's an overwhelming tendency to believe only the worst of Pakistan cricket.

Though I've never met him, Haider strikes me as a most intriguing character. His Facebook friends' list includes 15 journalists that I know, most of whom he can't have met even once. In an age when many players treat the media like scum, it seems bizarre that a fringe player with a rudimentary understanding of English would be going out of his way to give access to journalists. A Pakistani journalist I spoke to describes him as a "shameless self-publicist".

That doesn't mean, however, that we shouldn't listen to what he has to say. For instance, the RBS Cup match that the Guardian wrote about today. Are we really to believe that a first-class team can make 123 in 6.1 overs against first-class opposition? Or that Salman Butt, whose fastest innings in terms of strike-rate in the international arena is 36 from 31 balls, could make 92 from 25 balls? To put that into perspective, Yuvraj Singh took 12 balls to make the fastest Twenty20 half-century. What Butt did was to reprise that sort of once-in-a-lifetime innings twice over. Believable? Only in Wonderland.

Were Haider's actions simply those of a man who didn't trust his mates? Perhaps. But it should be mentioned at this point that Younis Khan, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Yousuf and Shahid Afridi have never been mentioned in connection with fixing. All of them are senior players, and surely their doors would have been open for him to walk in and tell them that someone had threatened him.

In that context, the most interesting quote I read was from Haider's brother, Raza. "Just two hours ago my brother called me saying he cannot take any more pressure and is retiring from international cricket," he said, before adding that he "could not get along with the team".

"I wouldn't know what to believe," said a former India international who has commentated on several Pakistani games in the past. "Anyone can come up with a story, but is there any proof? Did he have an agenda?"

When the News of the World story broke, Ramiz was one of the few not to sit on the fence when asked for his opinion. "If you are implicated, you've got to come out straight away and say: 'I've not done this, I don't care what the allegations are, I'm not involved and that is the truth'," he told the paper.

Ravi Shastri, who represented India several times in Sharjah during the days when the Emirates was the hub of one-day cricket, says that he can't recall any instances of players being threatened in his day. "I'm surprised that he didn't approach the anti-corruption unit," he said. "But maybe he just lost his nerve. You could in a situation like that. And it does tie in with what Geoff Lawson [the former Pakistan coach] had to say a while back about players and selectors being threatened."

So after an enthralling series that saw three incredibly close finishes – the most dramatic of them scripted by Haider – Pakistan cricket is once again in the news for the wrong reasons. The administration, just praised by the ICC for taking strong steps to root out corruption, will face many more uncomfortable questions over the coming days.

Back in 2000, one of the other anecdotes we heard centred around Pakistan's greatest cricketer. Imran Khan was woken up one night by an anonymous caller who informed him that four of his players were on the take. The next morning, he called a team meeting and said: "I know how well you can play. If any of you don't perform, I won't just have you banned, but I'll send you to jail."

Maybe Misbah-ul-Haq, who leads the team in the first Test that starts on Friday, needs to take a few pointers from Imran. But it's hard to give speeches when most believe you don't even deserve to be in the team in the first place.

Breaking News…Zulqarnain Haider unveils Kamran Akmal

Olympic staff reporter: In a special meeting with the Daily Olympic London Bureau chief, Syed Tariq, Zulqarnain Haider disclosed the real facts behind his escape to UK.
According to Zulqarnain, he had been receiving threats and dictations from Kamran Akmal for some time now. Haider said that Kamran had asked him to not perform well in the foruth ODI against SA. But keeping a closed ear to threats and warnings from Kamran Akmal, Zulqarnain Haider did what he could to help Pakistan cricket team win the 4th ODI.
According to Zulqarnain, after the last ODI, which he participated in, he decided to leave the team, because he saw no other alternative. When asked by Syed Tariq for the reason to decide to come to UK, Zulqarnain said that he knew that if he would go to Pakistan, no one would pay any attention to his hews and cries. Answering to a question regarding his plans of filing a case for political asylum in UK, Haider said that his asylum application has no monetary motives, because all that the refugees get are 200 pounds sterling a week, whereas his own cricketing career was worth lot more than that.
Concluding his conversation Zulqarnain Haider said that even being in UK he still has fears regarding his own life and more importantly he fears for the lives of his family in Pakistan.
Near the end of his meeting with our London bureau chief, Zulqarnain received a call from his brother and even during his talk withhim he repeated that it was Kamran Akmal who threatened him and forced him to play against the country for the good of the book-keepers.
Zulqarnain Haider also reiterated that what happened when Bob Wilmar died. There were signs and reports of crime, but did anyone find anybody responsible? So if Bob Wilmar’s  death went undisclosed, how could he (Zulqarnain Haider) trust his security to such people

2010: Pakistan's year in crisis


Zulqarnain Haider's decision to retire from international cricket after claiming he received death threats is only the latest of a number of problems to trouble Pakistan cricket in 2010.
Sadly, allegations of corruption and off-field disputes have made the headlines more often than the national team's on-field performances.
THE NIGHTMARE DOWN UNDER
Mohammad Yousuf and Australia captain Ricky Ponting
Yousuf and Pakistan had an unhappy tour of Australia
Pakistan's tour of Australia last winter, which began in December 2009, was a disaster for the tourists. After drawing their warm-up game with Tasmania, they lost every single competitive game during their stay down under.
The Test side, captained by Mohammad Yousuf, were beaten in all three Tests at Melbourne, Sydney and Hobart, with the defeat in Sydney all the more remarkable after Pakistan had looked set for victory on the final day.
Australia resumed on the final morning 80 runs ahead with only two second-innings wickets remaining. But Mike Hussey (134 not out) and defiant tail-ender Peter Siddle (38 from 117 balls) added a mammoth 123 for the ninth wicket before Pakistan were skittled for 139 to hand Australia a 36-run win.
Pakistan were then whitewashed 5-0 in the one-day internationals, lost the only Twenty20 international and were reeling from nine straight defeats in all formats by the time they left Australia in February.
BALL-BITING AND BACKBITING
Shahid Afridi speaks to the umpires during the Perth game where he bit the ball
Afridi's ball-biting earned him a two-match suspension
Pakistan's Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi, never a stranger to controversy, was then handed a suspension by the International Cricket Council for an unusual offence.
In 2005, the all-rounder was banned for one Test and two one-day internationals for deliberately scuffing up the wicket with his spikes in a match against England in Faisalabad.
More than four years later, he was caught on camera biting the ball in a one-day international against Australia in Perth and banned for two Twenty20 games.
With Afridi suspended, former skipper Shoaib Malik was named captain for two Twenty20 internationals against England in the United Arab Emirates.
But before they could take place, Malik and Mohammad Yousuf were involved in a public war of words, with both criticising the other's term of captaincy.
Malik had more personal issues of his own to deal with subsequently, ahead of his high-profile marriage to Indian tennis star Sania Mirza.
INDEFINITE BANS - OR ARE THEY?
Younus Khan
Younus Khan's indefinite ban was lifted after three months
Following the disastrous Australia tour, the PCB launched an inquiry and eventually announced sweeping punishments in March.
Former skippers Mohammad Yousuf and Younus Khan were banned indefinitely from representing Pakistan after the inquiry found them guilty of "infighting which... brought down the whole team", although the PCB later stated the bans were not intended to be for life.
Five other players were also punished. Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Shoaib Malik were banned for a year and heavily fined for unspecified indiscipline, while Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal and Umar Akmal were all heavily fined and warned that their conduct would be monitored during a six-month probationary period.
All four suspensions were subsequently lifted at various points during the year...
Malik's ban was lifted in May, Younus's in June (by an appeal judge) and Naved's in October. Yousuf announced his retirement from international cricket in March but was recalled to the squad in August.
Having won the ICC World Twenty20 in 2009, Pakistan were losing semi-finalists in the Caribbean in May, bowing out after Australia's Mike Hussey hit three sixes in the last over to book their place in the final.
AFRIDI'S BACK... NO HE'S NOT
Shahid Afridi
Afridi quit Test cricket after only one game as Pakistan skipper
Unable to play at home sincegunmen attacked Sri Lanka's team bus in Lahore in March 2009, Pakistan headed to England in late June to play two Twenty20 internationals and two "home" Tests against Australia.
Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi ended a four-year exile from Test cricket to lead Pakistan in the Tests but then resigned the captaincy and retired from Test cricket after his team lost the first Test by 150 runs.
Batsman Salman Butt was named as his replacement as Test skipper on 17 July.
THE ENGLAND SERIES STARTS POORLY
Kamran Akmal
Kamran Akmal dropped a number of chances during the series
After battling back well to win the second Test against Australia and level the series at 1-1, Pakistan then faced England in four Tests.
Fielding an inexperienced batting line-up, the tourists were cruelly exposed. Dismissed for 182 and 80 at Trent Bridge as England won the first Test by 354 runs, they were then rolled over for 72 in the first innings of the second Test at Edgbaston as England romped to a nine-wicket victory.
Pakistan's fielding was lacklustre at times. Wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal was dropped after a nightmare performance behind the stumps in the first Test, only for replacement Zulqarnain Haider to suffer a broken finger in the second Test and return home.
Fortified by Yousuf's recall for the third Test, Pakistan won by four wickets at The Oval. But that high point would soon be followed by a new low.
SPOT-FIXING STORM BREAKS AT LORD'S
Pakistan selector Shafqat Rana and team manager Yawar Saeed read the News of the World's allegations
Spot-fixing allegations overshadowed the last day of the Lord's Test
Spectators attending the first three days of the fourth final Test at Lord's witnessed some superlative cricket.
Teenage left-arm seamer Mohammad Amir produced a virtually unplayable spell of swing bowling which left England struggling at 102-7 and Pakistan odds-on favourites to square the series .
But Jonathan Trott (184) and Stuart Broad (169) added 332 for the eighth wicket, a new world record, before spinner Graeme Swann ripped through Pakistan, whose batting crumbled again as they were steamrollered for 74 and forced to follow on.
As Saturday night turned into Sunday morning, reports then surfaced that would rock the world of cricket, with the News of the World alleging that three Pakistan players had been involved in spot-fixing during the Test.
It was claimed that Amir and fellow seamer Mohammad Asif had deliberately bowled no balls at pre-arranged times in return for money from a bookmaker's "middle man". New Test skipper Butt was also implicated.
As a result of the newspaper allegations, there was a funereal atmosphere to the final day as Pakistan, who did not appear on the field to warm up before play, limped to an innings defeat before lunch. Hardly surprising that the presentation ceremony, which was low key, was held behind closed doors.
Butt, Amir and Asif were provisionally suspended by the ICC and interviewed by British police, as was seamer Wahab Riaz, although no charges were brought. The ICC's anti-corruption and security unit's investigation remains ongoing - as does the police investigation.
BUTT ACCUSES ENGLAND
Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ijaz Butt
Butt's comments during the one-day series incensed England
With the accused trio back in Pakistan, the remaining tourists moved on to the limited-overs leg of the tour. After two sparsely-attended Twenty20 defeats in Cardiff, Pakistan soon trailed 2-0 in the five-game one-day international series before a superb spell by paceman Umar Gul helped Pakistan win the third ODI at The Oval to keep the series alive.
But corruption was soon back in the headlines after the ICC announced that it was investigating "a certain scoring pattern" in the third ODI, although no England player was under suspicion.
And an already tense series was inflamed further when PCB chairman Ijaz Butt told Indian television that he had heard some bookmakers saying some England players had been paid to lose at The Oval.
JONATHAN AGNEW'S COLUMN
BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew, writing in September 2010
England were understandably incensed at Butt's accusations and captain Andrew Strauss admitted the team had "strong misgivings" about taking the field for the last two ODIs.
Tensions boiled over at Lord's as Jonathan Trott and Wahab Riaz were involved in a brief spat in the practice nets, with reports claiming the pair had thrown pads at each other.
The England and Wales Cricket Board threatened to take legal action against Butt unless he apologised.
A tour mired in controversy ended on 22 September as England won the deciding ODI at the Rose Bowl.
Butt retracted his claim a week later, while tour manager Yawar Saeed, who had managed numerous tours since the 1970s, resigned.
ANOTHER NEW CAPTAIN - AND A NEW CODE OF CONDUCT
New Pakistan Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq
Misbah was named Test captain to face South Africa
In early October, Pakistan named their squads for their "home" series against South Africa in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Veteran batsman Misbah-ul-Haq, omitted from the tour of England, was named as their fourth Test captain of 2010, with Afridi continuing as limited-overs skipper.
Wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal was left out because of injury, giving another chance to the fit-again Zulqarnain Haider behind the stumps.
Meanwhile, the ICC upheld the provisional suspensions given to Salman Butt and Mohammad Amir, while Mohammad Asif withdrew his appeal, claiming his legal team needed more time to prepare their case. The PCB then suspended the trio's central contracts.
Pakistan also announced a new code of conduct for its players, following ICC recommendations, and were credited for doing so by the game's world governing body.
HAIDER TAKES FLIGHT
Zulqarnain Haider
Haider flew from Dubai to the UK on the day of the final ODI
With the one-day series against South Africa level at 2-2 and all set for a deciding fifth match, details began to emerge that wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider was no longer with the squad, and had boarded a plane to the UK.
He was later quoted as saying that he had quit international cricket after receiving death threats for refusing to fix games.

Afridi admits his team are losing time to build World Cup challenge


DUBAI // Misbah-ul-Haq, the Test captain, assumed the leadership reins of the Pakistan side from Shahid Afridi yesterday, knowing he has much to do to right the course of the troubled national team.
Afridi, the most celebrated player in Pakistan, is a popular leader of the one-day side among the supporters and players.
Yet the burden of responsibility clearly weighed heavily on the free-spirited all-rounder, as his side eventually added a 3-2 one-day series loss to their Twenty20 whitewash at the hands of South Africa.
After losing the decisive fifth match of the series on Monday night, Afridi, the harassed limited-overs captain, admitted his side were running out of time to build a successful World Cup challenge.
"Of course these problems have an effect, but these are issues which we hope will be sorted out by the PCB [Pakistan Cricket Board] and ICC [International Cricket Council]," Afridi said.
To exacerbate the run of defeats, the team were also mired in controversy again by the sudden disappearance of Zulqarnain Haider on Monday morning. The absence of the wicketkeeper, after he apparently received death threats, was the latest in a litany of crises in Pakistan cricket, and one which Afridi found difficult to bear.
Both Afridi and Haider are represented by the same Dubai-based management company.
"I wouldn't call [the captaincy] a burden, but it is a very, very big responsibility, and I think it is one that Shahid relishes," Umran Khan, the agent of both players, said.
"If there are any issues within the team, they need to speak to the skipper about them. As Shahid would tell you, the skipper's door is always open."

Andy Flower calls on ICC to crack down on Pak cricket match-fixing allegations


England cricket team coach Andy Flower has called on the International Cricket Council (ICC) to take action on match-fixing allegations involving the Pakistan cricket team.
England is scheduled to play in Pakistan next winter, and Flower’s latest demand comes in the wake of Pakistan wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider fleeing the Pakistan camp in Dubai claiming he feared for his life.
“The ICC need to jump around and do something and be decisive and pro-active,” the Sydney Morning Heraldquoted Flower, as saying.
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