In order to prevent match-fixing in the future it is recommended�
That the Captain of Pakistan Cricket team should be a person of impeccable character and not someone anyone can point a finger at. From the evidence recorded, it can be seen that the Captain is the key player to be bought to fix a match. Hence, this strong recommendation.
That similarly, the manager should be a person of impeccable character. A manager should realize that there are people on this earth who would lie even on oath. A manager needs to keep a stern hand with the players.
That all foreign tours should take along an independent third party, an ombudsman of sorts to deal with players complaints and indiscipline. Such a person could be the chairman of the PCB or his impartial nominee.
That a new code of conduct should be introduced for the players. The ICC code of conduct needs to be tightened and more provisions need to be introduced, targeting specifically the threat of match-fixing. To this end, under the code, players should be stopped from associating with known bookies or people who are convicted of match-fixing and similar offences. Such terms should be made a pre-condition to employment by the PCB and should be incorporated into the players' contracts.
That, inter alia, in order to facilitate the review committee, it should be made mandatory on the Board to collect video recordings of all the matches that have been played by the team and stored in its library. Such video recordings should be free of advertisements as it is when these ads are being shown i.e. at fall of wickets and change of ends that suspicious interchanges are likely to occur. This latter point is particularly raised as the moment in the Christchurch one-dayer where Salim Malik allegedly is said to have been angry with Rashid Latif for taking a catch is cut out by an advertisements break.
That the PCB should adopt a zero tolerance approach in this matter.
That Pakistani cricketers should declare their assets at the time they start their career and annually submit their asset forms to the Pakistan Cricket Board. This would ensure that their assets can be compared with their earnings and spendings. Such information may be kept confidential by the PCB. The Board should also compare these figures against figures obtained through independent inquiries from the players' employers (Counties, Leagues, Banks, etc.)
That players be forbidden to speak to the press unless authorized though a clause in their contract like the one contained in the ACB contract. Only after all PCB avenues of recourse have been exhausted can a player be excused from going to the press. This restriction may be limited to controversial matters only if the Board is so minded.
That in conjunction to the ban on speaking to the press, the PCB should actively take to defending its players, present and past, and not allow anyone to defame them. The players are the PCB's true capital and it should recognize that.
That generally Pakistani Law needs a summary procedure for damages for defamation. Such a procedure would be a deterrent to baseless allegation and would provide satisfaction to the innocents accused.
That the ban on cellular phones and outside communication generally during matches should be strictly applied. Phones, if necessary, can be routed through the manager. Any breach of this regulation should be strictly taken note of.
That players be prepared for the possibility that they can be blackmailed. Gamblers try to lure them in with all sorts of offers. Offers of cars, women, etc. can all lead to blackmail if accepted. We have seen it happen to others. Pakistani players should not be left naïve and it should be the duty of the board to educate these players when they come into the team as to the dangers and temptations are to that are faced by them.
That the PCB increase the pay of its Cricketers and develop for them more avenues of income (some are suggested below). It has been noticed that the Cricket Board is no longer a body which is running on grants by either the Federal government or by Federal Government institutions. The Board has of late become self-reliant and it is believed that the coffers of the Board are full. The Board after all generates money through the players and in all fairness the players deserve to receive more than they are presently receiving. An ACB cricketer earns in the region of US$250,000 to US$400,000 plus almost as much in endorsements on the side. Currently the PCB pays Pakistani cricketers around US$70,000 a year. Pakistani players for all their talent are not as well-paid as their counterparts abroad. As long as they are underpaid the tendency to be bribed remains. However, it should also be stated that such increases should not be to as high a level as some other countries because the cost of living in Pakistan as regards to the other countries is much lower. An increase with an eye on the standard of living in Pakistan is the order of the day.
That winning should be made more lucrative to players. To this end, further and more substantial win bonuses should be introduced. If players receive larger sums for playing well and winning tournaments, it would be an incentive to stay straight. No one is born corrupt or a match-fixer. This is especially so in the case of sportsmen. We have all heard of sportsman spirit and it is this spirit that needs to be inculcated into every child while he is developing his skills in the game. It is in this rationale and background that it is suggested that if players were to receive major sums of money for playing well in the form of win bonuses, the very temptation for an innocent sportsman of getting corrupt would in all probability be eliminated. This would, of course, be a scenario after all corrupt elements have been weeded out and punished.
That the pay structure of the PCB to its players be revised. Instead of being only based on seniority, when paying players, their performances, past and recent, should be worked into the pay-structure too. A player who fixes a match by getting a low score will feel the affects in his pay packet. That might be another incentive to stay straight. The pay structure now is strange in that if Salim Malik came back to the team he would get more than say Shoaib Akhtar. This leads to dissatisfaction among the younger stars and raises the possibility of corruption.
That the Pakistan Government should investigate gambling in Pakistan. Gambling is against Islamic law, yet the extent to which it is carried out in Pakistan and tolerated was a revelation. The people named in the Ehtesaab Report and the ones captured during this inquiry need to be investigated and prosecuted.
That, it needs to be said to the general public, this matter now needs to be put to rest. When they react to losses, the Public should be more tolerant in its criticism and remember that cricket is still a game of chance and the players are indeed human still. The other team is there to play too and the Pakistan team is not that invincible, at least not all of the time, that if they lose or fail to come from behind there must be something amiss. Even some of the Pakistan team coaches need to take note of that. (Haroon Rasheed's allegation against Saqlain was ludicrous.)
That, to those disappointed with their fallen heroes, it be suggested that humans are fallible. Cricketers are only cricketers. Please maintain a sense of perspective when you react and criticize.
