Pakis - Match fixing in England Test

England have just won the series. England beat Pakistan by an innings and 225 runs.
Very strange series.
I think Pakistan won the first two tosses & then batted. This in typical English summer weather - very overcast conditions ideal for swing bowling. England easily won the first two tests just on the back of being able to bat in the afternoon in both & piled on the runs then when the mornings were virtually impossible to bat at all.
The ball ruled the bat in all 4 tests for both sides & the only time Pakistan managed to get to bat in some decent conditions (in the third test) they won it. Nearly every time 1 or 2 English batsmen only managed a good score, batting in good conditions, but that was enough. I don't think that ANY batsman from either side especially covered themselves in glory (especially Pietersen, who had another terrible series) & it was certainly a series to bowl in.
Hence I was mystified by the decision to bat in the first two.

Also big talk now about the miraculous victory by the Aussies at the Sydney CG earlier this year. Dropped catches, missed run-outs, a flurry of bad shots to get out etc etc.

Min mak mak.

In a team game I think it is quite difficult for 1 (or even 2) players to effect the final result without it being obvious. The problem with the mass growth in internet betting is that it is now possible to bet only almost any aspect of the game, not just the result.
I gather that the betting scam in the UK is centred around the number of no-balls bowled. That is certainly something that a dishonest bowler could quite easily manipulate...

Very good Wazza
Part of me says "What the heck". So a bookie somewhere will lose a few quid (OK, probably 1,000s ) because of 3 no-balls in a row in over 20. It is not going to effect the outcome in a Test match. Dam stupid bet to take in the first place. - You may notice that my opinion of book makers is only slightly above that of lawyers & estate agents.

Yes, serious head on now Dermot, you are, of course, 100% correct - it should be an honour.
Sadly cricket in the Indian sub-continent has been plagued with rumors of 'interference' by book makers ever since I have watched cricket. The 20-20 IPL has some serious questions to answer at the moment, but I doubt if that will happen -money talks.
I know that sport & politics should not mix, but sadly they do...
I think it would not be an especially positive move to ban Pakistan from Test cricket - although I agree 100% that anyone would be insane to tour there.

I was very disappointed to see that Amir was one of the bowlers involved in the fiasco.
Only 18 years old & the youngest bowler ever to take 50 Test wickets. Surely had a fantastic cricket career ahead of him. Was the Pakistan player of the series & took wickets consistently.
I watched some of the interview with captain Butt & their manager yesterday. Looked very uncomfortable. Certainly left me with the impression that the taking of money was a systematic thing by the team & not just some dicey individuals cashing in on their own.

Have to surprise myself & say that, for once, I very much agree with what you are saying about sporting world governing bodies Tex. In some the deceit is actually encouraged & manipulated from the very top for their own personal ends. I am not so sure that is necessarily true of the cricketing one, but neither do they offer much positive direction in developing or policing the game either!!

A pretty reasonable perspective in this column (IMO):

Don't blame players for rotten state of game

CRICKET is rotten to the core.

No one should be surprised that players take dirty money from illegal bookmakers, given the game's administrators cuddle up to corruption.

Before any players are brought to account following the latest damning allegations against members of the Pakistan team, the representatives of the 10 Test-playing countries on the International Cricket Council should be investigated.

This incompetent and, in some cases, despicable rabble are destroying the game................

The rest can be found here http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/sp ... 5911608941