It would be a crying shame if Mohammad Amir were kicked out for life

Jonathan Agnew
31 Aug 2010

The case of Mohammad Amir is so sad but maybe it is the case we needed. We have all delighted in what he has done on the cricket field this summer, and his skills with the ball are amazing — the best I have ever seen from an 18-year-old.

If Amir were to be found guilty, I would hate it if he were banned for life, as some are calling for him to be.

Of course, should the allegations of spot-fixing be proven, there would have to be a fair punishment, but you could argue that a naive teenager should not be punished in the same way as someone who has been around the block a few times.

There are those, though, who would say that you could not have different punishments for the same alleged offence. We are left with a very difficult situation. It is important to remember that the allegations against Amir, and his team-mates Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt, remain unproven. But it would be a crying shame if Amir were lost to cricket for some moment of madness or some intolerable pressure placed upon him.

Yet if this situation highlights how serious the issue is, and how the Pakistan Cricket Board must deal properly with it, then it has to be a good thing.

Pakistan cricket now has the chance to reform itself, and it is a chance the men at the top must take. There needs to be a change in the culture of the way cricket is administered there.

As it stands, the make-up of the Board is heavily influenced by the people who run the country, and this really cannot go on. The PCB have to become their own responsible and independent body, taking it upon themselves to govern cricket in Pakistan strictly and fairly, in a way that will stamp out corruption.

It is important to note that PCB officials and selectors would have been aware of Mohammad Amir long before any corrupt bookmakers, and there needs to be a change in culture the next time a youngster of his potential and talent is brought into the fold.

The onus is on the PCB to educate these youngsters, some of whom are coming into international cricket from very deprived, rural communities and, perhaps, some of them might be easily blinded by the apparent generosity of corrupt individuals. They lure them in and, once they are in, it is very hard to get out.

If a full educational programme were put in place, it would enable the future Mohammad Amirs of the game to resist those who would tempt them into corruption. They would be aware of the possible agenda of a stranger who approached them, claiming to be their biggest fan.

The allegations might result in the England Cricket Board and MCC feeling betrayed after they opened the door for Pakistan to play neutral' Tests against Australia this summer because other teams are reluctant to tour that country. It is a problem, but I believe we would host Pakistan's home Tests again, because we all want their cricket to survive.

It is a unique, exciting, colourful brand of the game. Pakistan delight and frustrate in equal measure, and they have produced some of the finest players the game has known. I believe we need Pakistan cricket as much as they need us.

I feel very sorry for PCB chairman Ijaz Butt, because he accepted with good grace the offer to come to England and play the neutral Tests.

He realises how kind MCC were in sponsoring that series, and that Yorkshire took a real risk in staging the Second Test between Pakistan and Australia, which attracted poor crowds at Headingley. Maybe this will spur him on to purge his administration and the whole set-up. I certainly hope so.

At the moment, cricket is a low priority in Pakistan — and rightly so — because the country is in a ghastly situation. But what the sport did was offer people a chink of light, and they would have loved Pakistan's win in the Third Test against England. If the allegations are proven, it would represent a betrayal of them, too.

I hope I am not shown to be wrong, but I believe the International Cricket Council's anti-corruption unit are doing a reasonable job.

It appears that the agent at the centre of this affair, Mazhar Majeed, was clearly known to the Pakistan team manager, Yawar Saeed, who warned his players not to go near him. Apparently, they still did. So, under such circumstances, I'm not sure what chance the ICC have. It has to come down to the administrators to make sure their house is in order.

I have not, however, seen anything from an England team that has made me suspicious. With the no-balls from Pakistan, I was worried something might not be right, and each time something like that happens a commentator might be emboldened to say something.

What we have to remember is that any cricket match broadcast in the subcontinent is potentially at risk. We have heard cases in county cricket of bookmakers tapping up players, so the ECB have to be vigiliant, and we all have to learn lessons whenever these issues arise.