I posed the question on Twitter: “If cricket is religion and Sachin is God, does that make the alleged fixers the Devil and the syndicates demons?”
The answer was almost unanimous: yes, burn them.
Yes, we all feel cheated and yes, we were all stupid to think that this wasn’t going on in our precious, sacred game but it seems the majority of us are taking the ‘drown them and see if they float’ approach.
Please don’t misunderstand me: cheating is wrong, those who take part in unsavoury deeds should be punished but it seems as if though we are trying to put out the fire without even considering that we should look for the cause.
When you weed out the garden, cutting off the little weeds that are digging through the concrete works for a short while but the roots remain and they will grow again. Should it not be the same approach with these cricketers, too?
Mohammed Aamer is a precious talent and, for girl who has a soft spot for fast bowlers, he really has warmed my heart since he made his debut with his buck-teeth and big, bright smile. A boy who, despite the hardships in his homeland, was always smiling and always giving it his all. With his silly karate-kid headband and those piercing eyes, Aamir won my heart every time he bagged a scalp.
Heart-breaking it was, then, when the news broken on Saturday night that he was allegedly involved in match-fixing. I knew News of The World isn’t exactly Times magazine but the evidence just seemed so damning, so incriminating that it had to be true. The videos were there, the no-balls were there, these allegations…are they real? I was on the verge of tears as Sky played Amir’s humongous no-ball on loop and I kept on thinking: this can’t be happening.
Then, light. Bumble Tweeted that there are reports of certain Pakistani’s having their lives and families’ lives threatened if they were to not comply with syndicates. Many say that these are just that: rumours but I, for one, want to believe that it is true.
Until the evidence is staring me in the face, ripping my heart out and crushing it, I refuse to believe that one of the rawest and most exciting talents of the game had his being tainted by greed so early on in his life.