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On This Day: August 28, 2010 - The Lords Test came under the scanner for spot fixing

Sakss

Sakss

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The trio and Mazhar Majeed were accused of spot fixing and bowling deliberate no balls. Perhaps the darkest days of Pakistan Cricket?
 
Something funny about the whole match. Broad scoring 169* against Amir and Asif under total cloud cover? Butt was setting some very odd fields......
 
It was a shameful day for Pakistan and its cricket history.
 
Robert said:
Something funny about the whole match. Broad scoring 169* against Amir and Asif under total cloud cover? Butt was setting some very odd fields......
Click to expand...

There could well be something fishy in relation to Broad's innings too, but even accounting for that, he's totally regressed with the bat over the past 3 or so years.

Anyway, on topic, definitely the darkest moment in Pakistani cricket. The performance of the entire team during the match was shambolic - to the extent that it makes me think quite a lot of them were aware of what was going on before the news broke.
 
delpiero10 said:
definitely the darkest moment in Pakistani cricket. The performance of the entire team during the match was shambolic - to the extent that it makes me think quite a lot of them were aware of what was going on before the news broke.
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I remember watching the news breaking out on the Tv. And i honestly stood there in a state of disbelief.
Scratching the ball, dancing on the pitch is expected, but this was a crude thing for many. I did thought about the pakistani cricket fans and pakistanis in general, and knew things wont be normal for few weeks. As expected, all hell broke loose on forums and their news channels as well.
 
You know what the sad part is , that a lot of pak fans wants aamir in the team and thinking that just because he was not too young he should be forgiven, let me ask you guys, is he a toddler that he didn't know about the consequences of what he did? I know this topic has been raised umpteen times, but the support that guy gets is astonishing, it's like someone deceiving people and getting caught and then send to jail and as he is near his freedom, people saying let him have a job, since he is young.
 
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this was a dark period. depressing. I remember the night before my parents were sitting watch TV on saturday night and I went onto cricinfo and at the top it said "Breaking news: Claims for spot fixing" or something similar to that and I told my dad that and cos I was just 11 at the time I didn't know what it meant and how serious it was until my dad told me :(
 
Stark said:
I remember watching the news breaking out on the Tv. And i honestly stood there in a state of disbelief.
Scratching the ball, dancing on the pitch is expected, but this was a crude thing for many. I did thought about the pakistani cricket fans and pakistanis in general, and knew things wont be normal for few weeks. As expected, all hell broke loose on forums and their news channels as well.
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I remember Sky Sports News showing pictures of Yawar Saeed (the team manager) and other officials being taken away by police.

Truly the lowest moment Pakistan cricket ever reached.
 
When I woke up to this news, I was praying that it was a misunderstanding or that they have been falsely accused. But what follwed in the next few days really made me sad. It was the worst time for a Pakistani cricket fan.
 
Saw this news right before Iftar. Couldn't eat properly for the next few days because of this.
 
PP staff stayed up all night covering this - Sehri came and went!
 
Sad, sad day. Lost world class bowlers and a pretty good batsman. I will always blame Gullu Butt the most for this. Other two are to be blamed as well.
 
Saqs said:
We lost the number 1 and 3 ranked bowlers in the world.
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Yes, but to say that we are suffering is overdoing it. We have Wahab, Junaid, and Irfan who form a very lethal combo. Now I know you're probably gonna mention the beating they got in the previous game, but that's because Junaid is not FULLY fit and Irfan and Wahab are making comebacks. Once the trio are fully fit, they'll cause havoc.
 
A sad day for cricket

A potential Akram and a potential McGrath did something stupid :facepalm:

Insha'Allah Amir will come better and win for Pakistan
 
Square Drive said:
Yes, but to say that we are suffering is overdoing it. We have Wahab, Junaid, and Irfan who form a very lethal combo. Now I know you're probably gonna mention the beating they got in the previous game, but that's because Junaid is not FULLY fit and Irfan and Wahab are making comebacks. Once the trio are fully fit, they'll cause havoc.
Click to expand...

Losing M Asif from test squad has been a back breaking loss for the Pakistan side. Amir was doing good, and becoming great, but Asif was amazing. I still remember how he got two Lankan batsmen out in the 2006 tour, where both batsmen had left the ball, only to get bowled. The amazing thing is that one was right hander (I think, it was Dilshan or Samaraweera), and the other left-hander (Sangakkara, I think), and Asif bowled from the same run up over the wicket, and got the seam and swing to fool the batsmen on two completely different lines. What a bowler he was. He'd have ended with close to 400 wickets even with the small number of test matches that we play.
 
Vayuu said:
You know what the sad part is , that a lot of pak fans wants aamir in the team and thinking that just because he was not too young he should be forgiven,
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I don't care about that argument either. For me, the three of them are all equally guilty. However, once they have finished serving their bans (which were quite substantial), they should be considered for selection, if they still can compete with current Pakistan team members regarding their cricketing skills. They'll surely forever be scrutinized more by the media about who they meet and how they conduct themselves in their professional cricketing lives, but that's where it should end as well. Let them be under spotlight all the time, and ban them for any repeat offense, but until then they all should be considered eligible for selection.
 
Square Drive said:
Yes, but to say that we are suffering is overdoing it. We have Wahab, Junaid, and Irfan who form a very lethal combo. Now I know you're probably gonna mention the beating they got in the previous game, but that's because Junaid is not FULLY fit and Irfan and Wahab are making comebacks. Once the trio are fully fit, they'll cause havoc.
Click to expand...

Were playing with a second string attack. These guys are nowhere near as good the two idiots that got banned.
 
Last time Pakistan won a Test series was against England. That was nearly 3 years ago.

Pakistan lost 2 great bowlers to fixing. So, contrary to the resident delusionals, I'd say MazGate continues to affect Pakistan cricket a great deal.
 
James said:
Last time Pakistan won a Test series was against England. That was nearly 3 years ago.

Pakistan lost 2 great bowlers to fixing. So, contrary to the resident delusionals, I'd say MazGate continues to affect Pakistan cricket a great deal.
Click to expand...

Agreed. To say otherwise is delusional. But with a hint of hopeless optimism which I can respect.
 
NA said:
I don't care about that argument either. For me, the three of them are all equally guilty. However, once they have finished serving their bans (which were quite substantial), they should be considered for selection, if they still can compete with current Pakistan team members regarding their cricketing skills. They'll surely forever be scrutinized more by the media about who they meet and how they conduct themselves in their professional cricketing lives, but that's where it should end as well. Let them be under spotlight all the time, and ban them for any repeat offense, but until then they all should be considered eligible for selection.
Click to expand...
But the thing is where will it leave pak cricket in future? What kind of example will be set in front of cricket community , also whenever a Pak team travels abroad with these guys, imagine the pressure exerted by the foreign media and fans on ur team, whenever these guys perform poorly our in case of aamir his no balls will be closely watch.
 
James said:
Last time Pakistan won a Test series was against England. That was nearly 3 years ago.

Pakistan lost 2 great bowlers to fixing. So, contrary to the resident delusionals, I'd say MazGate continues to affect Pakistan cricket a great deal.
Click to expand...
So who was responsible for fixing, they had talent but the choose the wrong way to earn money, do u guys really believe that those guys cared for what u think?
 
Ek kahawat hai " ki agar tum sharabkhane me doodh bhi piyoge to log usse sharab hi samjhenge.
 
My first reaction hearing this one news was "That is a lot of money to bowl one noball in test"
 
What a sad day.

Still remember itwas during orientation week at my university. It was good in a way that I was in the US so the coverage of the event was not in my face all the time and very few ppl even knew abt it
 
Vayuu said:
But the thing is where will it leave pak cricket in future? What kind of example will be set in front of cricket community , also whenever a Pak team travels abroad with these guys, imagine the pressure exerted by the foreign media and fans on ur team, whenever these guys perform poorly our in case of aamir his no balls will be closely watch.
Click to expand...

Do you think, spending time in jail, getting banned for five years at your peak with only a slim chance that you can even come back after sitting out for so long, are not enough to instill fear in the minds of upcoming cricketers? The trio weren't just slapped on the wrist. They got the maximum possible punishment for spot fixing under ICC code of conduct, and in addition got jailed as well.

Regarding pressure from media and the overall circumstances affecting these players and the team, you have to take a big picture view. If one or more of these players come back and perform great and win games for Pakistan, and be sportsmen on the ground then none of the other things matter. If they won't perform or the team crumbles, for whatever reason, they'll find themselves out of the team.
 
NA said:
Do you think, spending time in jail, getting banned for five years at your peak with only a slim chance that you can even come back after sitting out for so long, are not enough to instill fear in the minds of upcoming cricketers? The trio weren't just slapped on the wrist. They got the maximum possible punishment for spot fixing under ICC code of conduct, and in addition got jailed as well.

Regarding pressure from media and the overall circumstances affecting these players and the team, you have to take a big picture view. If one or more of these players come back and perform great and win games for Pakistan, and be sportsmen on the ground then none of the other things matter. If they won't perform or the team crumbles, for whatever reason, they'll find themselves out of the team.
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first of all , what is the guarantee that these guys will immediately start performing as soon as they are with pakistan team, 5 years is a very long time my friend, they haven't played cricket in this time, so they have to prove their worth for a season of two, secondly, you said that they had to spend time in jail and should be forgiven, because they have paid a price of it, but my question is what about pride of ur country, which has been tarnished by these guys, surely that's enough to not let them enter the cricketing field.
 
NA said:
Losing M Asif from test squad has been a back breaking loss for the Pakistan side. Amir was doing good, and becoming great, but Asif was amazing. I still remember how he got two Lankan batsmen out in the 2006 tour, where both batsmen had left the ball, only to get bowled. The amazing thing is that one was right hander (I think, it was Dilshan or Samaraweera), and the other left-hander (Sangakkara, I think), and Asif bowled from the same run up over the wicket, and got the seam and swing to fool the batsmen on two completely different lines. What a bowler he was. He'd have ended with close to 400 wickets even with the small number of test matches that we play.
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True, very true.

Was extremely sad to lose these guys, but we've not done bad to recover from that loss.
Saqs said:
Were playing with a second string attack. These guys are nowhere near as good the two idiots that got banned.
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Among the top 3 best bowling attacks in world cricket today.

kthxbye.
 
Square Drive said:
True, very true.

Was extremely sad to lose these guys, but we've not done bad to recover from that loss.


Among the top 3 best bowling attacks in world cricket today.

kthxbye.
Click to expand...

'Amongst the top 3 bowling attacks in world cricket' and yet no Test series win for almost 3 years?
 
James said:
Last time Pakistan won a Test series was against England. That was nearly 3 years ago.

Pakistan lost 2 great bowlers to fixing. So, contrary to the resident delusionals, I'd say MazGate continues to affect Pakistan cricket a great deal.
Click to expand...

If it hadn't happened those guys would still be fixing games now and we would be losing because of that.

I believe most of the guys in the current team are honest.

Also I think it's unlikely Amir is likely to fix after his comeback and he can still serve Pak cricket for a good many years so I think in the long run, it may have been better for us.
 
I remember Michael Holding pretty much crying when talking about Amir.

Amir is a seriously world class talent. Tall, fast and he could make the ball sing.

Even now I think he could be world number 1 within 2-3 years

He was on track to be a special player like Brian Lara who would be appreciated by all cricket fans in the world.
 
Convict said:
I remember Michael Holding pretty much crying when talking about Amir.

Amir is a seriously world class talent. Tall, fast and he could make the ball sing.

Even now I think he could be world number 1 within 2-3 years

He was on track to be a special player like Brian Lara who would be appreciated by all cricket fans in the world.
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I hope he comes back. I'm sick of talent-less but honest bowlers boring my pants off.
 
Convict said:
I remember Michael Holding pretty much crying when talking about Amir.

Amir is a seriously world class talent. Tall, fast and he could make the ball sing.

Even now I think he could be world number 1 within 2-3 years

He was on track to be a special player like Brian Lara who would be appreciated by all cricket fans in the world.
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I hope he reads stuff like this and appreciates exactly what he blew away. Had the world at his feet.
 
Square Drive said:
Among the top 3 best bowling attacks in world cricket today.

kthxbye.
Click to expand...

With one world class bowler? :))

Top 3 attacks:

1. South Africa
2. Australia
3. England

And there's not a lot of difference between them either.

Pak is probably on par with Sri Lanka at 4th/5th spot currently. Sad, but true. Irfan no longer plays Tests, and we have an out-of-sorts JK and the Wahab. The top 3 I just mentioned have two spearheads with atleast one decent support act. We only have one spearhead, and he is an ageing spinner that is now under the radar again.
 
Fastandfurious said:
Sad, sad day.
Lost world class bowlers and a pretty good batsman
Click to expand...
. I will always blame Gullu Butt the most for this. Other two are to be blamed as well.
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lost all respect honour & dignity, losing of world class players in that manner is not a loss its shame & humiliation.
Indeed it was the sad & worst day of Pakistan Cricket
 
James said:
'Amongst the top 3 bowling attacks in world cricket' and yet no Test series win for almost 3 years?
Click to expand...

It's because of our selfish captain and his defensive mindset. It's like a sheep is leading a bunch of lions.

Fastandfurious said:
SA, Aus, Eng and even NZ are all better.
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SA is better, and Australia is marginally better. England are slightly behind us, and New Zealand are probably tied with England.

Saqs said:
With one world class bowler? :))

Top 3 attacks:

1. South Africa
2. Australia
3. England

And there's not a lot of difference between them either.

Pak is probably on par with Sri Lanka at 4th/5th spot currently. Sad, but true. Irfan no longer plays Tests, and we have an out-of-sorts JK and the Wahab. The top 3 I just mentioned have two spearheads with atleast one decent support act. We only have one spearhead, and he is an ageing spinner that is now under the radar again.
Click to expand...

Saeed Ajmal = world class (all formats)

Junaid = class, potentially world class (all formats) [experiencing a bad patch in ODIs, that's all. Bowled superbly against SA a few months ago]

Wahab = lethal, potentially world class, although very unpredictable (Tests, ODIs)

Irfan = deadly, although he has fitness issues (all formats)

Rehman = very good, although is undergoing a lean patch and his time might be over (Tests)

Bilawal Bhatti = very good, but needs to bowl with more control (Tests, ODIs)

Rahat Ali and Talha = good, but are very unlucky most of the times (Tests)

SA > Australia > Pakistan > England = NZ
 
Square Drive said:
It's because of our selfish captain and his defensive mindset. It's like a sheep is leading a bunch of lions.



SA is better, and Australia is marginally better. England are slightly behind us, and New Zealand are probably tied with England.



Saeed Ajmal = world class (all formats)

Junaid = class, potentially world class (all formats) [experiencing a bad patch in ODIs, that's all. Bowled superbly against SA a few months ago]

Wahab = lethal, potentially world class, although very unpredictable (Tests, ODIs)

Irfan = deadly, although he has fitness issues (all formats)

Rehman = very good, although is undergoing a lean patch and his time might be over (Tests)

Bilawal Bhatti = very good, but needs to bowl with more control (Tests, ODIs)

Rahat Ali and Talha = good, but are very unlucky most of the times (Tests)

SA > Australia > Pakistan > England = NZ
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I would have agreed with this list a couple of years ago, when Irfan was fully fit across all formats (you realise he has retired from Tests now right?), and Junaid seemed to be a much more lethal bowler, and we had an on-fire Afridi and semi-fit Umar Gul in our LOI teams.

Currently though, Broad and Anderson as a combination would probably outbowl us.
 
Saqs said:
I would have agreed with this list a couple of years ago, when Irfan was fully fit across all formats (you realise he has retired from Tests now right?), and Junaid seemed to be a much more lethal bowler, and we had an on-fire Afridi and semi-fit Umar Gul in our LOI teams.

Currently though, Broad and Anderson as a combination would probably outbowl us.
Click to expand...

Irfan hasn't retired from Tests. :facepalm: Although yes, they're not looking to play him in Tests anymore. But when we have Wahab and Junaid, we don't need a 3rd pacer (in the UAE that is). And by the time we start playing Tests away (2015), Amir will be back, Insha'Allah.

Junaid is still a lovely bowler in Tests. In ODIs, he's just experiencing a bad patch, that's all. You'll see a much improved Junaid against Australia in the ODIs, iA.

Afridi has never really been on fire for more than 1-2 consecutive games lol, and Gul hasn't been the Gul he used to be pretty much since Junaid broke into the side.
 
Square Drive said:
Irfan hasn't retired from Tests. :facepalm: Although yes, they're not looking to play him in Tests anymore. But when we have Wahab and Junaid, we don't need a 3rd pacer (in the UAE that is). And by the time we start playing Tests away (2015), Amir will be back, Insha'Allah.
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He has officially retired from Tests as at 3 June 2014 - according to articles I read back then.

Irfan said that Test cricket was "an added pressure" that he could do without. "I have decided to play Twenty20s and one-day internationals only. I am focusing on the 2015 World Cup," said Irfan.

To say we don't need him as a third pacer is quite laughable, because he is easily the country's premier pacer - so if he was available for selection, then he would definitely have been selected.
 
Saqs said:
He has officially retired from Tests as at 3 June 2014 - according to articles I read back then.

Irfan said that Test cricket was "an added pressure" that he could do without. "I have decided to play Twenty20s and one-day internationals only. I am focusing on the 2015 World Cup," said Irfan.

To say we don't need him as a third pacer is quite laughable, because he is easily the country's premier pacer - so if he was available for selection, then he would definitely have been selected.
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Which articles have you read?

He is arguably the country's best pacer, yes, but he hasn't retired. We are not selecting him because he just came back from his injury. We are going easy on him so that he doesn't get injured again. Heck, we didn't even select him for the ODIs in SL initially; he was added into the squad as a cover-up for Junaid Khan.
 
Square Drive said:
Which articles have you read?

He is arguably the country's best pacer, yes, but he hasn't retired. We are not selecting him because he just came back from his injury. We are going easy on him so that he doesn't get injured again. Heck, we didn't even select him for the ODIs in SL initially; he was added into the squad as a cover-up for Junaid Khan.
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There was one on Cricinfo back when it happened, but can't seem to find it.

But here is one I found, which I quoted from in my post.

http://www.cricketnewsworld.com/new...6/mohammad-irfan-to-retire-from-test-cricket/
 
Square Drive said:
Which articles have you read?

He is arguably the country's best pacer, yes, but he hasn't retired. We are not selecting him because he just came back from his injury. We are going easy on him so that he doesn't get injured again. Heck, we didn't even select him for the ODIs in SL initially; he was added into the squad as a cover-up for Junaid Khan.
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The country's best pacer is as useful as a bottle of water after the first 3/4 overs.

Wahab Riaz is the best available fast bowler in the country.
 
Mamoon said:
The country's best pacer is as useful as a bottle of water after the first 3/4 overs.

Wahab Riaz is the best available fast bowler in the country.
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A bottle of water is arguable the most useful thing in this world (refer to Ramadan). :shakib
 
We lost our two world-class bowlers on this vicious day.

It is a tragedy we will never see Asif bowl again.

It is a tragedy which we didn’t know that that one bowler with long hairs would never be the same bowler which he was.
 
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